LITTLESTOWN, Pa. — Update, Dec. 21, 9:45 a.m.: The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) Fire Marshall is investigating the cause of the fire that destroyed Ma's General Store.
The investigation is ongoing, but authorities have shared that the fire was not suspicious in nature.
According to PSP Trooper Frazer, the damage estimate hovers around several hundred thousand dollars but has not been fully determined.
Emergency personnel battled the fire for several hours until it was marked under control. Alpha Fire Company was on the scene for about seven hours, returning twice to put out hot spots that flared up.
Approximately 60 firefighters from the following fire companies assisted at the scene: Alpha Fire Company, SAVES, Gettysburg, Barlow, Pleasant Valley (Carroll County, Md.), Taneytown (Carroll County, Md.), Harney (Carroll County, Md.) Hanover, Irishtown, United Hook & Ladder and LIFETEAM EMS.
Update, 5:09 pm.: The scene has now cleared, and the fire left little other than ashes and rubble in the place where Ma's General Store, which resided in The Edge of Town gift shop mall, once stood.
Chris Link, 2nd lieutenant of the Alpha Fire Company, spoke with FOX43 and confirmed there was one minor injury. He said the person injured was a customer who was in the store, and they were transported to the hospital to treat smoke inhalation.
Link gave credit to a bystander who ran into Ma's General Store and notified the owner and customers of the fire. Link said that their quick actions saved lives.
Previous: Fire crews and emergency responders were dispatched to battle a fire at a commercial building in Adams County Tuesday morning, according to dispatch accounts.
The fire was reported shortly before 9:30 a.m. at a commercial property on the 5200 block of Baltimore Pike in Germany Township, according to emergency dispatchers.
There was no word on what caused the fire, or whether anyone was injured.
