Businesses picking up the pieces, after massive fire heavily damages office buildings near Grissom Parkway

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) – Myrtle Beach firefighters are investigating what caused a massive fire Tuesday night at two buildings near Grissom Parkway.

Myrtle Beach fire Capt. Jon Evans said firefighters were called around 8:30 p.m. to the 1100 block of 48th Avenue North where a row of office buildings is located.

The fire department posted a video on its social media showing the fire at a building where Elan Day Spa and Atlantic Spine are located.

Evans said he doesn’t believe anyone was inside of the buildings at the time of the fire and there are no reported injuries.

Evans said crews are continuing to investigate what caused the fire. He says they’re currently reviewing nearby cameras and eye witness statements.

Evans did say at this point, he does not think the fire was an intentional act.

Evans added, due to the amount of damages, there’s a possibility they may never know for sure exactly how the fire started.

He describes the incident as a catastrophic loss because of the damages.

The fire tore through two building structures, leaving behind remnants of it’s destruction.

Visibly scene are shattered windows, charred boxes and pieces of the roof scattered on the ground.

Most of the people our news team spoke with today did not want to talk on camera but some said they feel grateful to have not been in the building when the fired occurred. That includes the owner of Maryland Media One, Steve Clendenin.

His radio station Carolina Gold 93.9 in Myrtle Beach. The business is located on the second floor of the plaza building.

Clendenin says he left the building about an hour before the fire broke out.

Clendenin says the company had only been located inside this building for about three months. He’s just holding out hope that all the businesses will be able to bounce back even stronger.

“It’s heartbreaking to see their life savings, their investment go up in flames literally,” Clendenin said. “I know we can rebuild and build the station better from the ground up again. But just knowing other people are going through the same thing I’m going through today, trying to figure out what next, how can we fix this? How can we get back up and running? It’s heartbreaking.”

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