Gonic restaurant gone, gun shop damaged; 7 from upstairs apartments homeless in spectacular blaze

An aerial view of the two buildings and the narrow alleyway where it is thought to have started. (Milton Fire photo)

GONIC - A Gonic landmark went up in smoke on Sunday afternoon as the century-old building that houses Phagins Bar and Grill was destroyed in a fast-moving fire that drew close to 100 area firefighters to battle not only the seven-alarm blaze but the blistering heat as well.

The blaze also left seven tenants of upstairs apartments homeless, many of whom were being assisted by the Red Cross, and did substantial damage to firearms dealer Renaissance Arms.

No one was injured in the blaze, Deputy Fire Chief Tim Wilder said, which was reported around 1:40 p.m.

Wilder said the fire appeared to have started in an alleyway between two of the buildings, which are set close together in Gonic's downtown.

Firefighters had the fire under control by 4 p.m. but some crews stayed on hand into the night to watch for hot spots.

An investigation into the cause continues.

Meanwhile, Rochester Police are notifying the public Main Street in Gonic will be closed from the Church Street intersection to the Railroad Ave intersection at the beginning of Pickering Road most of Monday for the investigation.

Traffic which normally utilizes this route for travel will need to use Old Dover Road and Tebbetts Road to get around the road closure.