And, less than 24 hours later…

Flames erupt on the roof of the former Big Lots store on October 22.

By Randy Bell

Some of the same Clinton firefighters who battled the flames at Brookdale Senior Living the night before barely had time to recover before being dispatched to another major structural fire, this one at the former Big Lots store at the Clinton Plaza shopping center at mid-afternoon on October 22. There was major roof damage to the building, which is being renovated to house a Club4 Fitness gym. Workers inside were evacuated, along with two maintenance workers on the roof. No injuries were reported.

Andy Zhang, the owner of the Great Wall Chinese restaurant next door to the building, says some customers came inside telling him about the fire.

Firefighters use water cannons to extinguish flames at the former Big Lots store.

“The next thing I know, there’s some fire trucks and police cars, and they made us evacuate for safety reasons. So, we had to leave real quick.” Zhang’s restaurant wasn’t damaged.

Fire Chief Levius Buckley says they’re “pretty sure” they know what caused the fire, saying it was likely “human error.”