SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) — A family-owned supermarket in Southfield was destroyed overnight Tuesday in a fire.
The Plum Hollow Market, a staple over the last five decades, is a total loss.
Related Video: Overnight fire destroys Plum Hollow Market in Southfield
The first calls came in just after 1 a.m., with Southfield fire crews raising this to a three-alarm fire, calling in five other agencies to help.
Firefighters initially went inside to put out the flames, but they grew, spreading to the roof.
Related Video: Chopper 7 shows aftermath of fire at Plum Hollow Market
Those crews immediately called out of the building and began spraying from the outside. Over four hours later, crews still doused flames as the building smoldered.
Southfield Fire Battalion Chief Chris Smith says this being a grocery store means a lot of fuel for the fire to burn through.
"We call that a fire load and absolutely, there’s a lot of combustibles in there and there's equipment. Sometimes, we heard some small explosions... a lot of things to burn, which led to a lot of heavy fire that we encountered," Smith said. "This market is a staple in our community and it’s been around for a long time."
No one was injured in the fire. We're told the other buildings in the complex, on the other side of the market, are OK, at most getting some water damage.
We spoke to the former owner over the phone, who sold the business to someone outside the family back in July.
“We put a lot of time into the store. A lot. I spent most of my life in there,” says Bob Rinderknecht. “Takes a lot of hard work and dedication, but we always made it happen. I’ve worked since I was a little kid. When my dad would bring me when I was 5 years old to make shish kabobs all day long."
A cause hasn't been determined, but fire investigators are looking into it.
Community members say losing the market to a fire will hurt.
“I find it kind of tragic that a resource like this was lost,” says Daniela Espinoza. “The pique of it is convenience, it’s community. It is a place for people to go to get the last ingredient for dinner, and I find it really sad that now that’s gone, and I have to go somewhere even further away.”
“I’ve lived in Southfield, it will be 40 years in August of this year, and I’ve been coming to Plum Hollow Market ever since then,” says Patricia Cade. “It’s just very disturbing, I don’t know what could have possibly happened. I hope they find out what happened because it’s just a great loss to me, a big loss.”
