Hampton, Va. – The Soap N Suds Laundromat on Mercury Blvd. in Hampton was destroyed by a fire overnight.
The call came in just before 11 p.m. Sunday night. By the time firefighters arrived, part of the roof had already collapsed and they were forced to fight the fire from outside with ladder trucks.
An employee inside the building at the time said she saw a light flicker and then saw smoke.
When crews arrived at the scene, flames were shooting out of the roof from the building.
Fire officials say the cause of the fire was an electrical wire malfunction at the base of the wall. The fire then traveled up the wall and into the roof space.
Crews used an excavator to tear down part of the building this morning.
