Tuesday's fire destroyed a Wayland strip mall. How officials are helping those impacted
WAYLAND — The shopping plaza on Main Street that was the scene of a five-alarm fire on Tuesday will be condemned and demolished, Town Manager Michael McCall said Thursday.
McCall said the town's Building Department has met with a structural engineer and has determined the building is no longer structurally safe and will have to be condemned.
"That means, at some point, the building will have to come down," the town manager said.
McCall said several residents have reached out asking the town to assist the businesses and their employees. He said he has reached out to state Reps. Carmine Gentile, D-Sudbury, and David Linsky, D-Natick, to determine whether any assistance can be provided at the state level.
'A lot of explosions': Firefighters from 10 MetroWest departments fought blaze in Wayland strip mall
In addition, the town reached out to the MassHire Career Center and its rapid response team to assist those whose jobs were lost due to the fire, McCall said.
"These small businesses are an integral part of Wayland," McCall said. "We're trying to support them in any way we can. It may be a while before that site can be returned to how it was before, but if there was another site, we'd certainly support their efforts."
The more than 7,000-square-foot plaza, owned by the Dino Michalopoulus Trust and the Nicholas Michalopoulus Trust, was built in 1930. It's home to four businesses — Liberty Pizza of Cochituate, Wayland Town Cleaners, a Honey Farms convenience store and International Auto Body, where the fire occurred.
Dino Michalopoulus said it's not clear what the next step will be.
"It's honestly way too early to determine that," he said. "It's kind of a waiting game. I just got the news about it myself."
Michalopoulus said his family has owned the plaza since around 1960. He said he has spoken to tenants.
"There was a lot of consoling," he said. "It's difficult. It's a traumatic thing. It's one of those things you have to learn to live with it. It's very unfortunate. I have a lot of empathy for the people who work there. They're a lot of good people who have been there for a long time."
Shortly before 4 p.m. Tuesday, 10 fire departments responded to the five-alarm fire at the Main Street plaza. Upon arrival, firefighters discovered heavy fire and smoke coming from International Auto Body, 118 Main St. Firefighters contained the fire to that business, but there was heat, smoke and water damage to other businesses.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, although Fire Chief Neil McPherson said it is believed to be electrical in nature.
Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date public safety news, follow him on X @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: After five-alarm fire, Wayland plaza to be condemned
