Salisbury’s only grocery store is completely destroyed after a fire.
Salisbury Fire Rescue Chief Brad MacLeod says they got the call around 5 a.m. on Sunday.
A picture the union posted shows The Independent with flames shooting out of its roof.
MacLeod says no one was injured.
The roof of the Independent Grocer had already collapsed when fire crews arrived.
They worked to protect the rest of the strip mall with water.
MacLeod says they had to use an excavator to pull away the steel and get at the fire inside the structure.
The Independent was a total loss, but the rest of the businesses in the strip mall are in tact, he says.
Some trucks were getting ready to leave when they got a call about another fire, a barn in flames on Homestead Road.
Usually the community of Salisbury only has a structure fire once every few months.
“So to have two in one day and three in a weekend is quite a bit,” MacLeod says.
Town, community offers condolences
Salisbury Mayor Robert Campbell described the fire as “devastating.”
“Our hearts and prayers are with the employees and store owner,” Campbell said.
Campbell said the town was grateful no one was injured and thanked both Salisbury firefighters and the other local fire departments that responded.
Campbell said the Town of Salisbury will work on getting some arrangement in place to help seniors get to grocery stores or other arrangements.
“It is still early and we are having lots of talks,” he said.
On social media, other grocery stores and residents offered their condolences, saying that the town will miss such a significant store.
The Atlantic Superstore on Trinity Drive in Moncton posted on their Facebook page to send support.
“We are thinking of our former Store Manager James and his wife Willow on the devastating loss of their Independent grocery store in Salisbury,” a post read.
Several other businesses in the Moncton have caught fire recently. On Sept. 21, crews were called to Steeves Mountain landfill. The day before, crews were called to both Steve’s Tire on Caledonia Road and to a construction site on Weisner Road.
