Members of the Geneva business community are coming together to help a downtown business that was damaged by fire on Monday morning.
Parla, a home decor and consignment shop at 122 Hamilton St., caught fire at around 6:45 a.m. on Monday. Firefighters from Geneva and surrounding communities responded quickly, putting out the fire within 20 minutes without injuries, but the fire and smoke extensively damaged the shop, according to a news release from the city of Geneva.
On Monday afternoon, damage to the outside of the building appeared minimal from the street. However, the inside of the building’s first floor, particularly near the front, was noticeably charred. That’s where city officials said the fire likely started, but the cause has yet to be determined.
Parla Social Media Manager Kristen Cornelio said the store is grateful for the quick response by area firefighters, which likely helped to save the building. At around 4:30 p.m. on Monday, she was one of several people who were helping to salvage what they could from the fire-damaged store.
In addition to those connected to the business in one way or another, many people from other local businesses responded to help the relatively new business, which Cornelio said celebrated its one-year anniversary in April. According to a Facebook post, Tom and Jennifer Feltes from The Royal Wren, Lynne Ball from Liz and Kate Boutique, Jen Kaye of Jennifer Kaye Photography and Theresa Fairbank from Ken’s Auto Center all helped Cornelio and Parla’s owner Dawn Muir on Monday.
Other local businesses are helping in other ways.
Cravings, an Asian food restaurant at 113 W. State St., will be donating a portion of all dine-in and carryout order sales from Tuesday and Wednesday to Parla, according to a Facebook post by the restaurant. The Up North Wine Tasting Room will also be donating a portion of its sales from 2 to 9 p.m. on Thursday to the shop, a separate post said.
In the city’s news release, officials said firefighters responded to the fire early Monday morning after a report of smoke inside the building.
The first firefighters to arrive on the scene saw smoke coming out of the second story of the building, and so called for additional support, officials said in the release. Firefighters from St. Charles, Batavia, Elburn and West Chicago responded to assist, the release said.
The Fermilab and North Aurora fire departments filled in at the Geneva fire stations and stood by to respond to additional calls in the community, according to the release.
Parla is currently closed, and according to a Facebook post from the business, it will be for some time. It is too early to say what the store’s next steps will be, but updates will be shared on social media, the post said.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
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