A shopping center fire Monday night that damaged three businesses and caused more than $100,000 in damage might have been started by an arsonist, the Temple Terrace Fire Department said Thursday.
There's a strong suspicion that it's arson, said the department's Assistant Fire Chief Ian Kemp. The fire is under investigation by the State Fire Marshal's Office.
The fire was called in at around 9:40 p.m. at the Temple Terrace Shoppes, located at 56th Street just north of Busch Boulevard.
It started in the rear of Liberty Tax Service, 9271 N. 56th St., and destroyed the business and caused $100,000 of damage, Kemp said.
The adjacent businesses, which included a Supercuts and a beauty supply store, had heavy smoke damage. The damage at the two stores was estimated at $25,000 to $50,000, Kemp said.
All three businesses were unoccupied at the time, and there were no injuries.
Kemp said the fire station is near the shopping center and firefighters were able to get to the scene in two minutes. The fire was extinguished in 15 minutes, Kemp said.
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