By Roxana Ross – Staff writer
LUMBERTON – It is unclear what caused a fire that ripped through the former Blackmon’s Furniture store shortly after

midnight, gutting the building that was a mainstay of downtown Lumberton for almost 60 years.

Firefighters managed to contain the blaze to the 218 E. Fourth St. property, but neighboring storefronts smelled of smoke and were without power and phone service this morning.

Crews from the city of Lumberton and Bellsouth were at the scene this morning working on a damaged utility pole and downed lines in front of the building. Officials with the city Fire Department said they got the call at 12:04 a.m. and left the scene about 4:20 this morning. They began the investigation into its cause this morning.

Melvin Morris operated Inner Peace Life Development Center out of the building, which he described as an art center and after-school program.

“God has got my back,” Morris said. “He’s got more in store for me, so I’m going where he leads me. He’s been the foundation of my business so I know he’s going to look out for me and he’s got bigger and better things right now.”

The fire gutted the building’s interior and collapsed the roof, but almost all of the walls appeared to still be standing. The sidewalk was littered with charred debris and broken glass. Yellow caution tape blocked the sidewalk and a new utility pole was waiting on a truck to replace the one that was badly burned.

Mara Best, who works at Carolinas Home Care Agency two doors down, arrived at work at 8 a.m. to find her office smoky and dark. She stepped in quickly to try a light switch before leaving to call co-workers.

“I didn’t know about the fire,” Best said. “We’ve got no electricity, no power.”

Dick Taylor owns the building and several others nearby.

“We were very fortunate that there were fire walls on both sides of it,” Taylor said. “It was pretty much contained.”

Wilson Blackmon, who died in 2003 at age 89, opened Blackmon’s Furniture Store in 1946 when he rented the storefront that had once served as a buggy shed. The business closed after his death when his son-in-law, Nicky McKeithan, retired. McKeithan could not be reached this morning either.

Jerry May, the city’s Electric Utilities director, said he expected power to be restored to the area today. Phone service to parts of downtown were still out at presstime.