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Surf’s Down

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daytona a WFTV

WFTV image

FOR THE SECOND TIME IN LESS THAN THREE MONTHS a tourist-gift shop has been completely gutted by a suspicious fire in Daytona Beach, Florida.  Sometime after 6 pm Tuesday evening this latest fire was reported at the Hurricane Surf Wear on Atlantic Ave.  By the time the first-in units were on the scene the entire building was fully involved.  WFTV reports:

The owner of Hurricane Surf Wear, Yoram Brittom, looked like he was in a state of shock, as he watched the business he’s run for 20 years, burn.

“That’s your life down the drain. I have to build everything up again. It won’t be easy,” Brittom says he left his clothing shop around 4:00pm Tuesday and at 7:00pm someone called and told him about the fire.

However, a tourist told a reporter from the Daytona News-Journal:

“We went yesterday to get (my son) swim trunks, but the place was all locked up,” he said. “The neon ‘open’ lights were on, but the doors were locked at 3 or 4. We had to go up the street. But today they had the side door open and were moving boxes into a truck. We were joking about it.”

It’s unclear who owns the property — there is no entry on the Volusia County Property Appraiser’s Web site for the address provided by officials. The state’s Division of Corporations also has no listing for either Hurricane Beach and Sportswear or Hurricane Surfwear — as the business is called in an online advertisement that says its open seven days from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and specializes in T-shirts, swimsuits, cigarette rolling papers, hookahs and cigars.

 The FD was able to confine the fire easily because it was a free-standing building.  WESH-TV has a video report with some good fire footage:

State Fire Marshal investigators are on the scene this morning to begin searching for the cause.  On Labor Day there was another suspicious fire in a gift shop on the beachfront area that has not yet been solved.  (See Firegeezer report on that fire HERE.)

Also on FireGeezer…

Posted by on November 25, 2009 • Filed under: arson, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , , , ,
  • http://www.iaff3499.com/ Nate Q.

    This is starting to become a somewhat regular occurrence in the greater Daytona area. Tourism numbers are declining, and it seems that several of these are burning down each year, all seemingly suspicious fires (just had a popular Bike Week bar have two likely arson fires in the span of three days). Just a theory though. On a side note, there are also an inordinate amount of Dollar Generals being built as well…no less than four have opened up here in the past two months…just thought the Geezer would find that interesting.

  • firegeezer

    Thanks Nate,
    With the tight economy, more people are shopping in places like Walmart, Costco and the dollar stores.  For the dollar stores, the big money is in the supply chain.  Does your department pre-plan your dollar stores now, with their current “problems”?  A few departments are just now starting to pay attention to this new hazard.

    Bill S.

    ________________________________

  • http://www.iaff3499.com/ Nate Q.

    We've been keeping an eye on them as they're being built and have gotten into most for pre-planning before they get their occupancy cert. Down here, almost all are built similarly: steel members, corrugated metal walls/roof, minimal access/egress, high fire load. But…they also like to dress them up with hardi-siding and fake windows, so they tend to look more like a block or frame building.

  • http://www.iaff3499.com/ Nate Q.

    We've been keeping an eye on them as they're being built and have gotten into most for pre-planning before they get their occupancy cert. Down here, almost all are built similarly: steel members, corrugated metal walls/roof, minimal access/egress, high fire load. But…they also like to dress them up with hardi-siding and fake windows, so they tend to look more like a block or frame building.

  • http://www.iaff3499.com/ Nate Q.

    This is starting to become a somewhat regular occurrence in the greater Daytona area. Tourism numbers are declining, and it seems that several of these are burning down each year, all seemingly suspicious fires (just had a popular Bike Week bar have two likely arson fires in the span of three days). Just a theory though. On a side note, there are also an inordinate amount of Dollar Generals being built as well…no less than four have opened up here in the past two months…just thought the Geezer would find that interesting.

  • firegeezer

    Thanks Nate,
    With the tight economy, more people are shopping in places like Walmart, Costco and the dollar stores.  For the dollar stores, the big money is in the supply chain.  Does your department pre-plan your dollar stores now, with their current “problems”?  A few departments are just now starting to pay attention to this new hazard.

    Bill S.

    ________________________________

  • http://www.iaff3499.com/ Nate Q.

    We've been keeping an eye on them as they're being built and have gotten into most for pre-planning before they get their occupancy cert. Down here, almost all are built similarly: steel members, corrugated metal walls/roof, minimal access/egress, high fire load. But…they also like to dress them up with hardi-siding and fake windows, so they tend to look more like a block or frame building.