Mishawaka business destroyed by fire

MISHAWAKA, Ind.— A business in the 800 block of S. Beiger Street was completely destroyed by a fire on Thursday.

The fire, which started just before 12 p.m., forced the evacuation of a neighboring business.

It took firefighters nearly two hours to extinguish the fire.

Fire officials say because of the size of the fire and the amount of structural damage to the building, they have not been able to get inside to begin investigating the cause.

"It’s hard to get through that with that much fire and heat," said Battalion Chief Jeff Hums. "It’s hard to get in there and the metal roof inside. There was going to be attic space it appeared, so it’s very difficult to get to that fire."

There were no injuries.

Officials say the building will be torn down once the investigation is complete.

The state fire marshal is investigating.