LYNNFIELD, Massachusetts (WCVB) -- A large fire tore through a strip mall in Lynnfield, Massachusetts, on Tuesday night, destroying several businesses and leaving the structure heavily damaged.
First responders were called to The Shops at Post Office Square off Salem Street around 9:20 p.m. on Tuesday. Workers at nearby Lynnfield House of Pizza spotted smoke and flames and called 911.
"It's terrifying how fast it spread, and water's not doing much," said Yasmeen Khan, who called 911.
The Lynnfield Fire Station is right across the street, and the chief said they were alerted by someone banging on their door.
"Our station is only about 100 yards from here. Somebody was knocking on the front door of the fire station, and the guys stuck their head out and we already had fire through the roof at that point," said Lynnfield Fire Chief Glenn Davis.
"It was just a rapidly moving fire and went through alarms to get ahead of it," Davis said.
According to witnesses, the fire began at the Old Towne Market on one side of the plaza and quickly spread across the roof, engulfing most of the five or six businesses located in the strip mall.
Recommended Trump suggests he won't debate Harris again, attacks ABC over moderators' fact-checking "It's so much hard work gone within two hours," said Old Towne Market co-owner Mohammad Oheduzzamaan.
The store Oheduzzamaan ran for 12 years with his family is a total loss, along with other businesses.
"It's making me cry inside because we had so much hard work put in there," he said.
Video from the scene shows flames bursting through the roof as firefighters worked to contain the blaze. The fire grew to six alarms.
Despite pouring large amounts of water on the flames, the fire continued to spread, eventually causing the roof to collapse across much of the structure.
"The gas lines to several of the businesses were compromised," Davis said. "We couldn't get to the shutoff at the rear of the building because it was such heavy fire."
Davis said it appears the fire started in the area of Old Towne Market, but it's too early in the investigation to determine a cause.