On Thursday morning, when Randy Atkins left Mojo's, the downtown South Charleston sports bar he has owned and managed for the past five years, everything seemed normal. By the time he drove to his Nitro home, he'd learned that his world had turned upside down.
"I got here about 7:15, to let the cleaners and Lottery people in and to go to the bank," he said, as he watched firefighters hose down flames that lingered inside his now-gutted business while an excavator operator began to tear down what remained of the structure.
"I left at about a quarter to 10," Atkins said. "There was nothing wrong in there. I didn't smell smoke or anything. But by the time I got home, I started getting calls that the place was on fire."
Shortly before 10 a.m., Kanawha County Metro 911 received a report of heavy smoke billowing from the two-story structure at 312 7th Ave., just across from South Charleston's landmark Adena Mound.
"Flames were visible when we arrived, and no one was in the building," South Charleston Fire Chief John Taylor said.
For more than an hour, flames continued to flare up through the smoke, despite being doused by several tons of water per minute by South Charleston firefighters, with assistance from the Charleston and Dunbar fire departments. St. Albans firefighters took over South Charleston's fire coverage while that city's firefighters focused on the Mojo's blaze.
"It's unbelievable. It's like an inferno that won't go out," said South Charleston Convention and Visitor's Bureau Executive Director Bob Anderson, as he watched firefighters battle the blaze. "It will leave us with a big hole on 7th Avenue."
Firefighters used a battery of water cannons in an effort to knock down flames and keep the blaze from spreading to adjacent buildings. By noon, the fire was under control but still not extinguished.
"We couldn't get inside, due to the partial collapse of the roof and a wall collapse," said Taylor. While the battle to contain the Mojo's fire raged on outside, some firefighters were stationed inside adjacent buildings to monitor for the possible spread of the fire.
While Mojo's was the only business destroyed by the fire, smoke or water damage was possible at neighboring buildings.
"I'm hoping that it won't be too bad," said Duane Swanson, who relocated his South Charleston Signs and Engraving business in a building adjacent to Mojo's about six weeks ago. "I was on the way to an installation in Beckley when I heard about the fire and came back. I was able to grab a couple of computers before I had to leave. It was smelling really smoky when I was in there, but the building looked all right. I can see the firefighters standing on the roof, now, so I guess that's a good sign. I'm hopeful that we won't come out of this too bad."
Swanson said he was particularly relieved to learn that the occupants of the apartment atop his business got out safely.
"They're a nice family with a little kid," he said. "Stuff is replaceable, people aren't."
"The fire department's doing a good job of keeping things contained," said Tonya Scruggs, who, with husband Sammy Scruggs, owns neighboring Bo Daddy's Sports Bar. "For a while, it looked like the whole block was going to go down."
"They gave us five minutes to get out what we could," said Sammy Scruggs. "I went in with a firefighter and got the cash register."
"This could have been a lot worse," said Mayor Frank Mullens, who arranged to have food and refreshments brought to the Mound for hungry and thirsty firefighters. "It's a testament to our firefighters' abilities and professionalism."
Atkins, whose building was a total loss, said that in addition to furnishings, inventory and the structure itself he lost a number of personal mementos to the blaze.
"The business had been doing really good," he said. "I had five bartenders working. Right now, it feels pretty bad."
The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
Reach Rick Steelhammer at rsteelhammer@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5169, or follow @rsteelhammer on Twitter.