Fire guts flower shop

Staff Reports

December 26, 2007 11:39 pm

— CROSLAND — A flower shop in Crosland was gutted by fire Christmas Eve afternoon. The origins of the blaze are unknown at this time, but it appears to have come from a kitchen area at the rear of the building, firefighters said.
T&L Country Florist at 6290 Ga. Highway 319 N. was operated out of an old wooden house built with heart pine.
“It was kind of hard to put out,” Norman Park Volunteer Fire Department Chief Arron Norman said Wednesday.
Eighty percent of the damage was due to fire and the rest attributed to water and heat damage, Norman said. Fortunately, volunteer firefighters were able to intercept the blaze and saved 90 percent of a mobile home attached to the back of the house. The mobile home was used for storage for the business, Norman said, and most of the contents were spared.
Responding to the fire were Norman Park, Livingstone Bridge, Northside, Ellenton and Omega volunteer units. The Red Cross responded and aided firefighters and the lone resident of the fire.
“We had a lot of good help out there, but it was a bad time right here at Christmas. We hate to see that,” Norman said. “...We appreciate all the help on Christmas Eve when they could have been spending time with their families.”
Firefighters used 10,000 gallons of water to extinguish the fire and remained on the scene an hour and 45 minutes to ensure no flare-ups could occur, he said.
Terry White, owner of the business, lives next door to his business and had tried to fight the fire with a water hose, Norman said.