Restoration efforts underway following downtown Penticton fire

PENTICTON – The owner of a downtown Penticton building damaged by fire last week says it will not have to be torn down.

Nikkos Theodosakis says restoration work has begun on the building, which caught fire in the early hours of Sept. 30, with cleaning of the ten office units on the building’s second floor. The two ground floor units containing Hooked on Books and Fibonacci Roastery and Cafe will follow, then an assessment can be made of structural damage suffered to the ceilings and floors.

Softy’s Shoes and Comfort, a business adjacent to the building, sustained smoke damage and has also been undergoing restoration work.

“It will be up to the experts to decide what needs to be done in terms of reconstruction,” Theodosakis says, “at this point there is no timeline for re-occupancy of the building.”

“It’s unfortunate so many businesses and services were displaced. We had a nice community upstairs. People were often surprised at the charm of the office space on the second floor,” he says, adding the building was renovated with the idea of maintaining the original 1940s theme. Theodosakis says the building was constructed in 1946.

Theodosakis has co-owned the building with his father for the past 16 years.

Deputy Fire Chief Dave Spalding says the Penticton Fire Department investigated the fire along with two separate insurance company investigators. They concluded the fire began in a garbage can in the alley behind the building, spreading inside.

Earlier this week RCMP Corp. Don Wrigglesworth reported the police have an open, ongoing investigation into the incident, adding arson is not suspected but has not been completely ruled out.

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