All that remains within the confines of the New Noe's Mexican Restaurant and Gisela's Beauty Salon is charred rubble as the result of a midnight fire on Sunday. (Staff photos by Michael Rodriguez)
By MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ
Managing Editor
editor@sbnewspaper.com
Two San Benito businesses went up in flames early Sunday morning, when a fire reportedly ravaged the establishments in what was described as a “total loss.”
San Benito Fire Marshal Henry Lopez said that at approximately 12:20 a.m. Oct. 23, a security guard working at La Villita dance hall reported seeing heavy smoke emitting from Gisela’s Beauty Salon, located on 180 W. Robertson St.
Upon arrival, firefighters – using thermal imaging – attempted to detect the source of the fire before entering the establishment, Lopez said. It was at that time that the windows to the salon shattered in what the fire marshal described as a “burst.”
“The windows burst and it (the fire) just shot through the roof,” Lopez said of the blaze, now raging at this point inside Gisela’s. The flames then spread to the neighboring business, The New Noe’s Mexican Restaurant on 190 W. Robertson St.
“The fire started in the beauty salon and spread to Noe’s, causing a lot of damage there, too,” Lopez said. “A nearby 8-liner (game room) also sustained minor damage.”
The fire marshal further noted that firefighters extinguished the blaze within 40 minutes and put out the hot spots in about an hour and a half’s time. Lopez also said investigation has thus far uncovered that the blaze was the cause of an electrical fire in the attic of Gisela’s.
No injuries were reported.
The amount of damage sustained, according to Lopez, may cost the affected merchants tens of thousands of dollars.
“Both businesses were totaled,” Lopez said. “They could even be looking at close to $100,000 in repairs.”
The interiors of both Gisela’s and Noe’s were completely burned out as employees worked Sunday morning to gut the structures of debris. Although much of the building appears intact, the roofs of the two establishments collapsed, and what now remains within the confines of a popular eatery and beauty salon is charred rubble.
For more on this story, pick up a copy of the Oct. 26 edition of the San Benito News.
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