An early-morning fire north of downtown Cumming heavily damaged several units in a small strip shopping center, according to Forsyth County Fire Department officials.
Division Chief Jason Shivers said fire crews were alerted to the fire by an alarm, and when crews arrived at the location at 316 Dahlonega Street around 5 a.m. Friday, they could see flames.
"They, in fact, reported heavy fire conditions with fire penetrating through the roof of the building," Shivers said.
Shivers described the building - identified on maps as The Little Village - as a small one-story structure with several suites.
"The fire was basically in the center of the building," Shivers said. "[There was] heavy fire damage, especially to the area of origin, but what of the building that wasn't damaged by fire is going to have extensive water and smoke damage."
Shivers did not have a dollar estimate on the damage, but he said one of the businesses in the building was a music shop that had just re-opened in the location and had been planning to have a grand opening in the coming days. As of noon Friday, he said he had not had a chance to interview the building owner or business operators.
Fire investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire.
Traffic on Dahlonega Street was blocked for a large portion of the Friday morning rush hour to allow firefighters to first, battle then fire, and then, clean up damage.
Shivers said no one was injured.
