Business Fire Extinguished On Church Street In Vienna

VIENNA, VA — There were no injuries reported from a shopping center fire in Vienna on Thursday, according to Fairfax County Fire and Rescue.

Units responded to the 100 block of Church Street NE around 11 a.m. and located a fire in the basement at the one-story, strip shopping center. The fire was quickly put out, and there were no injuries.

There were around 15 people in the building when the fire occurred. The business owner discovered the fire after finding smoke coming from his office in the basement. The owner called 911 and helped evacuate people from the building. Smoke alarms activated after the fire was found.

Investigators determined improperly discarded smoking materials caused the fire in the basement. Damages were estimated to be approximately $18,750.

Per fire department policy, only the block location of the fire was released.

Michael Amouri, owner of Caffe Amouri, shared on Facebook that the fire happened at another tenant at Caffe Amouri's building. Amouri praised the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department and other first responders for their response.

"The good news is that the smoke was worse than the fire, nobody was hurt and we're open for business," Amouri wrote on Friday.

According to the Town of Vienna, Church Street was temporarily closed between Center Street and Mill Street. The road reopened at the conclusion of fire department activity.