The building was under renovation and the owner planned to open a pizza shop there.
This is an update of a story posted Wednesday morning at 9:01 a.m.
PALMER - Lightning may be the reason why a landmark downtown building that housed the former Gales Newsstand went up in flames, leaving behind only a heap of charred wood and part of a burned wall.
The fire, which engulfed the vacant building at 1359-1369 Main St. on Tuesday night, remains under investigation by Palmer police and the state fire marshal's office. Palmer Police Detective Sgt. Scott E. Haley said two witnesses reported seeing a bolt of lightning strike the building.
"We need to check out all angles. The building went up quick," Palmer Fire Chief Alan J. Roy said from the fire scene on Wednesday.
Michael J. Randall, who lives across the street at 1358 Main St., said he and his girlfriend were outside watching the thunderstorm when they saw lightning hit the back of the building.
"A few minutes after, it was in flames," Randall said.
Fire Capt. David Pranaitis said the fire was called in just after 9 p.m., and firefighters were on scene until close to 3 a.m. on Wednesday. No one was injured, Pranaitis said. The fire was knocked down in an hour, Roy said.
"It was already fully involved when we got there. ... Fire was already going through the roof," Pranaitis said, adding it was threatening the apartment building next door at 1371 Main St. so firefighters focused their efforts on saving that structure.
A Palmer Fire investigator works at the scene of a fire that destroyed the building at Main and Central streets late Tuesday night.Roy described the Gales building - built in 1870 - as an old, wooden structure. Because it was under renovation, the inside was gutted and the fire spread quickly. There were no fire stops.
Firefighters went into the apartment building next door, dragging hoses inside to shoot water down on the fire, Roy said. All four families were evacuated, due to the smoke. The Red Cross also responded to the scene to help the displaced families.
Roy said the families were allowed back in the apartment building the next morning; the downstairs barber shop was open for business. The owner of the apartment building, Marc Graveline, praised the firefighters, saying they did an excellent job. That building, known as the Davis block, was the original police station in town.
The 2 1/2 story building that formerly housed Gales 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.
Carvalho said he was "overwhelmed" at the loss of his building, but said he would like to rebuild.
"I'm bummed out. I like this building. It was kind of old. It had a personality," Carvalho said, as he looked at the blackened rubble.
Carvalho planned to open a pizza shop there.
"I was supposed to have a pizza oven delivered tomorrow. I had everything in place," Carvalho said.
Part of Main Street was closed Tuesday night, Pranaitis 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, Pranaitis said.
"It was so smoky we couldn't see each other," Roy said.
In addition to Palmer fire, departments from Three Rivers, Bondsville, Ware, Warren, Wilbraham, Ludlow and Monson, and an incident rehabilitation unit from the state Department of Fire Services, also responded.
"The did an outstanding job, above and beyond," Roy said about the firefighters.
The building was valued at $164,100, according to information from the assessor's office.
The loss of the Gales building is the latest downtown structure to go up in flames.
In 2003, fire swept through a building at 1011 Central St., destroying hundreds of antique organs and instruments inside. In 1995, fire ravaged the former Holbrook building on Main Street, and in the late 1970s, fire destroyed a hotel at the corner of Main and Walnut streets - the site is just a few feet away from Tuesday's fire.