Early morning fire destroys Cairo grocery store

Cairo, Ill. -- A fire broke out at Gerald Junior and Julian's Inc. Grocery Store and Snack Bar, early Monday morning, making it the eighth blaze in the city since Sept. 8.

A dispatcher at the Cairo police department said the fire was reported around 3 a.m. Monday, though Cairo fire chief, John Meyer, could not be reached Monday for comment.

The windowless stone building on 15th Street in Cairo appeared to have suffered serious interior damage, and piles of burnt debris could be seen in front of the two entrances.

The fire department and state fire Marshal have been investigating seven suspicious fires earlier this month, the first of which occurred Sept. 8, and all of which happened within an eight-day period. Of those fires, one took place at a sports bar, five were houses and one was a car fire.

So far, no injuries have occurred at any of the fires.

Meyer said in a previous interview he couldn't comment on whether accelerants had been used to set the other fires, but remarked that it appeared each one began at a different part of the structure.

Gerald Junior and Julian's Grocery is located between Beyond the Bay Bar and Grill, site of a Sept. 16 fire near Future City, Ill., and the rest of the fires, which occurred within several blocks of one another close to 33rd Street in Cairo.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

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