Grocery store, mosque damaged in Northwestside blaze
Indianapolis firefighters are battling a fire on the city's Northwestside, according to Fox59.
The fire broke out Wednesday morning at a grocery store in the 5500 block of Georgetown Road. Crews were dispatched around 5:18 a.m. and saw flames and heavy smoke coming from the roof. More crews were dispatched around 5:24 a.m. after the initial assessment. Both Pike Township and Indianapolis fire departments were called to the scene.
According to Meg Sinclair from the Pike Township Fire Department, the building has a very large amount of stock stacked high inside. That's causing visibility problems for crews in the interior and putting them at risk of being hit by falling stock. Sinclair said a firefighter cut his hand on some glass and needed stitches.
In addition to the grocery store, the nearby Al-Haqq mosque sustained smoke damage from the fire. Worshipers couldn't get into the mosque for morning prayers and held them outside instead. Imam Muhammad Ndiaye from the Al-Haqq Foundation said the group would put up some tents for afternoon prayers.
Before fire crews arrived, IMPD responded to the building in response to a business alarm at 5:02 a.m. They saw no signs of forced entry and left. Minutes later, fire crews were dispatched. Sinclair said it's likely the fire sparked something that set off the alarm. There were no indications of theft or arson.