JONESBORO -- City officials opened one lane of Union Street in Jonesboro on Tuesday evening after a fire Thursday damaged a downtown building.
The street had been closed since the fire because authorities had feared the burned building at 411 S. Union St. could collapse into the street.
Workers placed a chain-link fence around the building and cordoned off the lane closest to the building but opened the eastern side of the road for traffic, said Jonesboro Police Department spokesman Paul Holmes.
The fire began about 10:30 p.m. Thursday in the ceiling of an apartment on the second floor of the building. In addition to residences, the building also housed Eden Medical Spa & Boutique.
A building next door sustained smoke and water damage. An architect and tattoo shop owner had to move from the building. Residents of the apartments spent Monday and Tuesday loading vans and trucks with items they could salvage from the charred building.
Fire Chief Kevin Miller said because the roof collapsed on the burned building, it's not safe for investigators to enter to determine the fire's cause.
State Desk on 08/05/2015