The Main Street building that formerly housed Gales Newsstand was in the process of being renovated when flames broke out, Palmer Fire Capt. David Pranaitis said.
Updates a story posted at 9:41 p.m. Tuesday, May 29.
PALMER — Fire ripped through a vacant Main Street building that was home to the former Gales Newsstand on Tuesday night, leveling the structure and threatening the building next door. Its cause remains under investigation.
Palmer Fire Department Capt. David Pranaitis said the state fire marshal's office and Palmer Police Department are investigating.
The fire was reported just after 9 p.m., and firefighters were on scene until close to 3 a.m. Wednesday. No one was injured, Pranaitis said.
"It was already fully involved when we got there. ... Fire was already going through the roof," he said, adding it was threatening the building next door, which houses several apartments.
All three families next door were evacuated, as the building was filled with smoke and had water damage. The Red Cross also responded to the scene to help the displaced families, he said.
The 2½-story building that formerly housed Gales was built in 1870 and is owned by James R. Carvalho of Ludlow, who bought it in 2009, the year the newsstand closed. Gales was reportedly the longest-running business in town. A deli mart replaced it, but that business did not last long.
Pranaitis said the vacant building at 1359-1369 Main St. was in the midst of being renovated, possibly for a pizza shop. Because the interior had been gutted, the fire spread quickly, he said. There were no fire stops.
Part of Main Street was closed Tuesday night, he said, because the front of the building was threatening to collapse. Pranaitis said the majority of the thunderstorm had passed, leaving firefighters to battle the blaze in heavy rain.
Power lines were coming off the burning building, making it a dangerous situation, he said.
He said firefighters focused on saving the apartment building next door at 1371 Main St., which also housed a barber shop. That building, known as the Davis block, was the original police station in town.
In addition to Palmer fire, the response included departments from Three Rivers, Bondsville, Ware, Warren, Wilbraham, Ludlow and Monson. An incident rehabilitation unit from the state Department of Fire Services also responded.
The building was valued at $164,100, according to information from the assessor's office.