by Alex Lloyd Gross
July 20, 2023
It’s 1989 and the Franklin Mills Mall is open for business. Retail stores will come and go, including some anchor stores. TheRe is a road around the mall with fast food restaurants and an Exxon gas station which is also a mini mart. It did a brisk business and closed in the late 1990’s. The shell of what it once was remains on the pad site.
Yesterday, about 8:00 AM it caught fire and was destroyed. The fire consumed the building. No one was hurt in the fire. Vacant buildings do not set themselves on fire. The fire marshal was on scene with police and utility companies to cut the power, determine the cause of the fire and get the building ready for demolition which should take place sooner, rather than later, authorities said.
While the gas pumps were removed some time ago, the building with the familiar red and white paint job on it remained, even though the building had not been occupied for over 15 years or more. The area will be canvassed for security cameras to determine who was on the property before it caught fire.