A malfunctioning electrical system caused a major overnight fire at Pearl Street Beverage in Burlington, authorities said Wednesday.
Firefighters remained at the scene Wednesday morning, as a smoky smell lingered around the store, the store, located just a few blocks from both the Church Street Marketplace and the University of Vermont.
No injuries were reported as the result of the fire, and the store suffered about $1 million in estimated damages, both structural and of inventory, Robert Plante, the Burlington Fire Department’s deputy chief of administration, told VTDigger.
Fire Chief Steven Locke said via email Wednesday afternoon that the fire was accidental, caused by “a malfunction of a component in the building’s electrical system on the main sales floor.”
The building was not equipped with automatic sprinklers, according to a fire department press release.
The fire department received a call at 2:12 a.m. from Burlington Police Department officers who were responding to a call on Pearl Street and saw heavy smoke coming from the store, Plante said.
Firefighters arrived on the scene at 2:16 a.m. and were able to get the fire under control by 4:15 a.m., he said.
“They made an aggressive interior attack and vented the building through a roof so they could extinguish the fire,” Plante said.
A total of 39 firefighters responded to the fire, including Burlington, South Burlington and Colchester firefighters.
UVM Rescue provided rehabilitation for firefighters on the scene, and the Winooski and Air Guard fire departments covered stations and responded to other calls.
The fire started overnight in the liquor store, Kyle Maxwell, owner of neighboring Lakeside Pharmacy, told VTDigger. Maxwell said that there was “heavy, heavy smoke damage to the pharmacy.”
“The liquor store is heavily damaged, and the pharmacy’s going to be shut down along with it,” Maxwell said.
Outside the store and the pharmacy, shattered glass and portions of the window frames lined the sidewalk. Passerbys stopped and snapped pictures on their phones.
As Maxwell stood by watching firefighters go in and out of his pharmacy and the liquor store a car pulled into the drive. Maxwell leaned in and told the driver he wouldn’t be able to pick up his prescription today.
Maxwell said that he did not yet know a timeline for reopening the pharmacy, and said he was nervous about the future, especially during the pandemic.
“Hopefully insurance can kind of come through, but just waiting and seeing, not setting any expectations and trying to keep a level head,” he said. “But definitely kind of freaked out.”
Those with prescriptions at the pharmacy should contact their local providers and have their prescriptions sent elsewhere, Maxwell said.
John Dubie, the liquor store’s owner, declined to comment on the fire Wednesday morning.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Pearl Street Beverage is on Colchester Ave. It’s on Pearl Street.
