Crime And Law

Second fire under investigation at Riverside businesses previously targeted by COVID-motivated vandalism

RIVERSIDE — A second fire in as many months is under investigation at a building that houses an international grocery store and Vietnamese restaurant that were previously targeted by vandalism motived by the COVID-19 pandemic.

>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Police investigating COVID-motivated vandalism at Riverside restaurant

Firefighters were called to the International Foods grocery store in the 4700 block of Airway Road in Riverside around 5:30 a.m. Thursday after smoke was reported coming from the business. A 911 caller reported he was on a morning run and found smoke coming from the structure.

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Crews found that the fire was in an attic area between the roof and a drop ceiling, Riverside Fire Chief Daniel Stitzel told News Center 7.

“It wasn’t until we got a crew on the roof that we could isolate it to a specific area. Once we figured out that it was above the grocery store ... crews were able to make entry and they located a relatively small fire above the drop ceiling,” Stitzel said.

The fire caused some damage to the wood trusses in the building and county building inspectors advised that people stay out of the business until repairs could be made, Stitzel said.

“It’s not a lot of structural damage but its enough to cause concern,” Stitzel said.

The restaurant, Xuan Vietnamese - Thai Cuisine, is connected to the grocery store but was not damaged. However there was a slight smell of smoke inside, Stitzel said.

The restaurant was the target of a previous suspicious fire and vandalism in late January that was called a hate crime by the Riverside Area Chamber of Commerce. While Thursday’s fire has not been deemed suspicious, accidental, or arson, a joint police and fire investigation is ongoing into determining the cause and possible motivations.

“Certainly (the previous fire) brings up a lot of concerns for us. We want to make sure we look at all avenues at what the possible causes are and if this is a possible repeat of a similar act then we are certainly investigating that as well,” Stitzel said.

“Anything is possible right now, especially with the event that happened last month. That is certainly something we are looking into and we’re going to investigate this fully. Whether its accidental, intentional, or hate crime were going to be looking into all aspects of that through the police and fire departments,” he said.

A damage estimate was not provided.

Stitzel said investigators collected evidence for analysis and surveillance footage might have captured the moments leading up to the fire.

Additional details were not available. We’ll update this story as we learn more.


Katy Andersen

Katy Andersen

I joined WHIO's team in September 2019. You can catch me on News Center 7 when I anchor Saturdays at 6 a.m., 8 a.m. and Noon, Sundays at 6 and 11 p.m., and while I am reporting during the week.

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