By Nathan Hardin
nhardin@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — Derrick Travel Plaza is open again after a fire forced the business and restaurant to close for about a day last week.
Rowan County fire investigator Deborah Horne said she’s still waiting for test results from the fire before she can determine the cause.
The fire started in the stockroom near a heating and air conditioning unit last Thursday night at 1105 Peeler Road.
Tim White, manager at Derrick Travel Plaza, said the fire caused “minimum damage.”
“I opened up the store within 24 hours,” White said. “The restaurant opened within 36 hours of the incident.”
White said investigators told him the fire was electrical and was probably caused by a short in an electrical line.
He said he is thankful employees acted quickly to contain the blaze.
“We had several employees that acted in a very prompt manner that probably saved the building,” he said. “They cleared the building and did the best they could to extinguish the fire and kept it in one place until the fire department arrived.”
An employee at the truck stop’s restaurant, CW Cafe, noticed what she thought was fog and smelled something burning.
She was one of several that helped evacuate the building.
Most of the damage was from smoke and water, White said.
“There’s a little construction being done,” he said, “but other than that everything’s back to normal.”