Neighboring business finds silver lining after fire at Marion furniture store

UPDATE: One local business owner has found the silver lining after a fire at a neighboring business that authorities say was intentionally set.

Lemstone Parable Christian Store co-owner Janelle Pickering was stunned at the generosity of her customers Thursday, the day after a fire at a neighboring business, Iowa Warehouse Furniture and Sleep Center, at 1418 Twixt Town Road in Marion.

“One woman came in here earlier to buy some books, and I warned her they were going to smell. She said, ‘No, this is for you,'” Pickering said. “And she wasn't the first.”

Pickering said several friends and family members came by the store Thursday to visit, and even help her out with the store. “There's a friend back there doing inventory,” she said, adding that Lemstone has many special orders to fill by Easter.

More than a few ServPro machines were on hand Thursday, attempting to clear out the smoke and water damage that was still present Thursday throughout the store. Pickering said the store was not open Wednesday, but when she arrived early Wednesday morning, it was full of smoke, and several inches of water covered the floor.

“Right where we're standing, there were two inches of water,” Pickering said. “Some other places had four inches.”

On the other side of the furniture business, in Collins Road Square, is Brown's Shoe Fit Company. Employee Matt Lamm said he lives a couple minutes away from the shopping center, but didn't wake up to fire alarms or a smoky odor.

“I woke up to a telephone call asking me to go make sure our building isn't on fire,” Lamm said. He added the shoe store was open Wednesday, and he didn't encounter much smoke or water damage.

Marion Police Lieutenant Scott Elam said there was a fire wall between the shoe store and the furniture business, but was unsure about the other side.

The furniture business still had several fluorescent signs in the window Thursday, including signs reading “everything must go” and “retirement sale.” Lamm said he heard the manager of Iowa Warehouse Furniture and Sleep Center was retiring, and a new manager was taking over. “New boss, new inventory,” Lamm said.

Marion Police Lt. Scott Elam said there's a look to look into, and the investigation won't be resolved in a couple of days. He said crews responded around 5 a.m. Wednesday and were at the shopping center for several hours.

Elam said he believes the building's sprinkler system kept the fire from spreading. “You can see if there hadn't been sprinklers there it would've been a lot worse, a lot more damage from the fire,” Lt. Elam said. "If the fire would've gotten to the book store [Lemstone Parable Christian Store], holy cow, it would've been even worse.

“It never fails to impress me," Elam added. "Those sprinkler heads, they detect the heat, hit a certain point and activate. You have to weigh the damage; you can have everything destroyed by fire or have everything wet."

When asked about how officials determined the fire to be arson, Elam said he could not comment on this particular case, but said sometimes things just "doesn't look right" as officials investigate a fire scene.

"Like the point of origin, or it just looks suspicious," Elam said. "The way the fire was, or if you have several different places that are on fire and not related to each other. This is no different than a theft or any other case, it's just that this is a fire; it's a matter of looking into it. And we don't want to be too hasty or jump to conclusions.”