WEST POINT — As she watched her life savings burn in West Point earlier this year, the question scorched in Brenda Merrifield”s mind was “why?”
Her question remains unanswered four months after fire gutted her shop, Wardrobe Treasures, and the neighboring Dollar General on Highway 465 alternate in May.
The fire was a “total loss,” meaning the damage was too extensive to determine the cause, said town Fire Department Chief Johnny Littlefield, who investigated the blaze.
Merrifield lost everything — $87,693 in inventory alone — within weeks of opening the shop. And because the fire happened while she was waiting for her insurance to kick in, none of that was recouped.
“It was truly a ”total loss” for me,” she said. “Every dime I had invested in my store was water and smoke damaged.”
Although the cause of the fire is still undetermined, former Dollar General store manager Robin Pace said there were numerous long-standing fire hazards in the building. The building shared by Dollar General and Wardrobe Treasures was owned by Mayor Scott Ross.
Some of those hazards, she said, included wires chewed through by raccoons and water leaking into overhead light fixtures.
“Every time there was an issue, I called it in (to the regional manager),” she said. “And I was calling in at least once a week, if not twice a week.”
Pace, who left Dollar General”s employment voluntarily for another job, said she would often have to report an issue five or six times before it was repaired.
The building was in such a state of disrepair that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration received a complaint in January.
Some of the hazards mentioned in the complaint included unsafe wiring in the break room and electrical room, and a popping noise that was heard when the electrical room light switch was flipped.
In a mailed response to OSHA, Dollar General said all the complaints had been resolved.
Dollar General spokeswoman Tawn Earnest said the company “took each report seriously and either made repairs or, when appropriate, requested the landlord make repairs.”
But Pace said the problems reported to OSHA were just the tip of the iceberg.
Leaks in the roof were reported weekly for months and the roof was never replaced, she said.
“They never fixed the whole issue — just patch here, patch here, patch here,” she added.
Chief Littlefield, in his report, said the roof “fell in on top of Dollar General and made it harder to put fire out.”
Ross said Southern Roofing had been surveying the roof for an estimate on repairs shortly before the fire.
“Nobody wants to spend more than they have to,” Ross said when asked why he had not replaced the roof sooner. “You try to address the problem but not overdo it.”
The roof of the building was actually three roofs that had been built on top of each other, he said.
“The building was old,” he added. “You can”t make it brand new.”
Ross was responsible for all repairs to property not owned by Dollar General, including the roof and wiring, he said.
Unlike Merrifield, Ross was insured, although he declined to tell how much he received. However, he did say that because he changed to a less expensive policy shortly before the fire, he was not reimbursed for the full amount.
Now, he said, his focus is on getting the building “back up as soon as we can.”
Henson Construction began work on the new, 10,640 square foot building a few weeks ago and are hoping to be finished by Christmas, Ross said.
The new building, which will also be occupied by Dollar General, will be “bigger and much nicer” with better parking, he said.
“I think people will be very pleased,” he added.
Ross owns the buildings of four other Dollar Generals, including one in Columbus.
As for Merrifield, she said she was being forced by circumstances to move in with her family in Illinois.
Eventually, she plans to rebuild “from scratch,” she said.
“(The fire) messed me up for quite a while,” she continued. “That hurt me bad.”
But now, after receiving support from family and the community, Merrifield plans to try again somewhere else.
“There”s nothing like owning your own shop,” she said.
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