Businesses damaged in Bristol fire along State Street

BRISTOL, Tenn. (WJHL) — Firefighters from both Bristol, Tennessee and Bristol, Virginia responded to a large fire Saturday morning.

According to the City of Bristol, Tennessee , crews from both cities’ fire departments worked a “large structure fire in the 1400 block of W State Street” on the Tennessee side.

Traffic between 17th Street and 12 Street was closed while firefighters remained on the scene in the morning.

The Bristol Tennessee Fire Department was reportedly called to the scene around 3:30 a.m. Battalion Chief David Vencill said all five fire stations in Bristol, Tennessee responded to the fire at Fumadores Lounge and Bar.

Vencill said flames were already coming out the side of the building when crews arrived and were soon reaching through the roof.

Bristol Tennessee Fire Chief Mike Carrier reports three businesses were primarily impacted by the fire, and a neighboring business suffered water and smoke damage.

A Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) agent and K-9 were on the scene Saturday morning after the fire had been extinguished. The TBI confirmed an agent is assisting at the request of the Bristol Tennessee Police Department.

Authorities are working to determine the cause and origin of the fire.

“The investigation is underway,” Vencill said. “We’ve got our investigators and others on-scene starting the investigation, but it’ll be days before we know anything on it.”

The Bristol Virginia Fire Department stated in a social media post that mop-up operations would likely take most of the morning.

Drivers were asked to avoid the area.

This is a developing story.

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