A fire that broke out this afternoon has destroyed buildings in downtown Nashville. By nightfall, many in the town of around 5,000 had turned out to watch as its historic downtown burned.
A row of buildings was engulfed in flames in the Howard County seat, and at least three businesses on south Main Street were destroyed. Mayor-elect Billy Ray Jones said the fire started in a building that was vacant and spread to an adjoining antique and second-hand shop and a beauty salon, destroying all three.
"It's a bad deal," Jones said. "But sometimes good things come out of bad things that happen. I'm optimistic. We'll be OK. We'll do something. I don't know what. But there'll be something back in there."
Click here to watch video of the fire scene and interviews with witnesses.
According to reports from the scene, people began hauling furniture out of the store as the fire grew.
Firefighters were battling the blaze, which sent thick black smoke billowing into the cloudless blue skies. Low water pressure was hampering the firefighting effort.
In addition to the three destroyed buildings, others on the block are expected to have varying degrees of smoke damage. Those could have been lost as well if not for quick action from the Nashville and surrounding fire departments, Jones said. He estimated more than 150 firefighters battled the blaze.
"They're lucky they saved what they did," he said. "It just all happened real quick. It got real bad in a hurry."
The cause of the fire was not known Thursday night.
No serious injuries were reported, though several firefighters were reportedly treated for minor ailments.
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