A fire erupted last night at Kinlaw's Supermarket, a long-established grocery store in east Fayetteville, with emergency crews battling the blaze well into the night, as CBS 17 reported. Firefighters received alerts around 10:05 p.m. and upon arrival were met with "heavy fire showing," said the Fayetteville Fire Department on CBS 17. As the fire raged on, the vicinity of S. Plymouth Street and Sapona Road was closed to traffic, an event that disrupted the area's nighttime calm and underscored the importance of the local business.
The store, which first opened its doors on January 2, 1979, is known for specializing in meats and operates as a family-owned business; it holds a special place in the community with damage from the fire potentially impacting customers and the local economy because people rely on it for their daily necessities and such establishments, small though they may be on a global scale, represent the backbone of regional commerce. As per a news release from ABC11, the immediate cause of the fire has not been disclosed, nor have there been any indications of injuries resulting from the incident.
Witnesses observed smoke billowing from the building and firefighters employing aerial ladders to drench the engulfed structure in water, attempting to suppress the flames that continued to emerge forcibly even after two hours of intense efforts. Images of the event captured last night show the extensive efforts employed to contain what was declared a "defensive operation," aiming to prevent the spread of fire and mitigate the loss, an operation that had fire crews labouring fervently against the blaze, according to CBS 17.
The scope of the damage to Kinlaw’s Supermarket remains to be fully assessed as WRAL reports that while extensive damage was visible from outside the structure, the exact extent within and whether anyone was hurt in the incident are still under investigation with no clear answers provided at the time of the report.
