VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Four of the five businesses housed in a building in the 3300 block of Holland Road in Virginia Beach have been destroyed following a single-story structure fire Monday morning, its property owner said.
The Virginia Beach Fire Department was sent to the fire around 5:30 a.m., and the commercial building is reportedly 90% damaged. One firefighter suffered a minor injury.
“We have Zircon Insurance Group, we have Sapphire Elite Realty Management, Batiste Core and then Onyx Realty Professionals — those are the four main [businesses] that rented our space,” said property owner Cavelle Mollineaux. “And then we have Unique Vibes Skin & Beauty Care, that’s to the front of the building.”
Mollineaux said the news has left him and the workers stunned.
“It was the most firefighters I’ve ever seen in my life — had to be at least 20, maybe more, because it was five trucks minimum,” he said. “Yeah, it was was shocking. I had no idea it was this bad. I got a call about 6:45. We’re in over here thinking that it was something minor, but when I got here, the fire trucks was here, the cranes were out and they were out.”
With approximately 100 people employed at the location, Mollineaux is working on a plan to move forward.
“Well, we’re a resilient bunch,” he said. “The unfortunate part is we bought this building a little bit over a year ago.”
After the fire was put out, the fire marshal remained on scene to further assess the damage to determine a cause.
10 On Your Side will continue to follow this story and provide updates as new information comes into the newsroom.