UPDATE: Village Plaza likely to be demolished after fire

May 04--WILMINGTON -- More than 36 hours after Everybody's Supermarket and the rest of Village Plaza on Greenfield Street were engulfed by a massive fire, parts of the charred structure still burned Friday.

The Wilmington Fire Department was still on the scene of the devastating fire Friday afternoon extinguishing the last remaining hotspots within the property, which crews could not enter a day earlier because the roof had collapsed and the structure was still considered unstable.

Late Thursday, investigators revealed the fire was caused by electrical failure Wednesday night around 7 p.m. in an adjoining warehouse and did not start in the grocery store, which was a vital part of the surrounding community. The extent of the damage was severe. Not only did Everybody's Supermarket crumble under the heat of the flames, every store in the Village Plaza also sustained significant interior damage.

Wilmington Fire Assistant Chief Rick Pearsall said once the last hotspots are put out, the property will then be handed off to the owners and their insurance agent. As for whether the building will need to be demolished, Pearsall said crews won't leave the site unless they know it is absolutely safe for the property owner to handle it moving forward.

"We won't leave the property in any way that would harm the public," he said. "If something needs to come down, we would do it ourselves or advise the property owners they need to take care of it."

Pearsall said fire crews would make the final determination if demolition is necessary, but added the building is not likely salvageable.

"My guess is everything is going to have to come down," he said.

The fire department has yet to release a monetary loss estimate for the plaza.

Reporter Hunter Ingram can be reached at 910-343-2327 or [email protected].

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