PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Portsmouth fire crews rushed to 700 Broad Street shortly after 4:00 a.m. Monday morning.
The fire destroyed the abandoned building in Port Norfolk. It took crews about an hour to get the fire under control.
Joanna Outland lives next door to where the fire happened. Outland said her home is only slightly melted on the side.
“It’s too close for comfort, definitely too close for comfort,” said Outland.
She said, luckily that’s also across the street from the Portsmouth Fire Department and neighbors were able to knock on the fire station doors when they saw the flames.
The building belongs to Robert Minnick, who’s the owner of Chesapeake Bay Diving. It's a recreational diving business, directly behind the burned building. He said it used to belong to a daycare center.
“So, it was abandoned back then, and we bought it I think in 2010 or 2012,” said Minnick.
In the space, he wanted to build an indoor pool for scuba diving training, but he said he needed more time to pay for the upgrade. That is until the building caught on fire.
“The fire marshal was saying it was probably a squatter in there, trying to stay warm,” said Minnick.
Minnick said he did everything he could to keep other people out.
“I’ve had to barricade the place every couple of months,” he said.
Now in this cold November month, he has to pay for the building's demolition whether he’s financially ready or not.
“I have to move on something I’m not quite ready to,” said Minnick.
The Fire Marshall is investigating the cause. No injuries have been reported so far.