A week after a fire caused extensive damage in the Wharfside Village shopping complex, V.I. Fire Service investigators are still searching for the cause.
Fire Marshal Glen Francis said the probe was going slowly, in part because he and his staff had to wade through fire debris that had not yet been cleared away.
A blaze early in the morning of Dec. 28 destroyed the second floor office of the Pusser’s Restaurant. St. John fire crews from Cruz Bay and Coral Bay were able to contain the blaze. Deputy Fire Chief Brian Chapman said smoke and water had left extensive damage in the Pusser’s Company Store and in a storage room used by the shopping center located down a hallway from the store.
Damage was also reported to a first-floor water sports shop and to a loft above the second floor storage room.
Francis said that mainland-based insurance representatives were present on Tuesday, Jan. 4, as the investigation proceeded. Chapman said a final estimate of the property damage would come from the shopping center’s insurers.
Wharfside Village owner Paul Sabers, contacted by St. John Source Tuesday afternoon, said he was in a meeting and could not comment on the circumstances surrounding the fire.
The Dec. 28 blaze was the second at the seaside shopping center. A fire in 1992 caused extensive damage to the Wendy's fast-food restaurant that was then located there.
