Firefighters battle a Friday afternoon blaze in the L-shaped commercial building at 7 Valley St. in Blackstone.  Call photo/Sandy McGee 

By SANDY McGEE

BLACKSTONE — A massive structure fire Friday evening on Valley Street destroyed three local businesses, but no injuries were reported.

The fire moved quickly Friday evening through a two-story L-shaped building complex at 7 Valley St., off Rathbun Street, not far from the city line with Woonsocket.
The fire was first reported around 5 p.m. at the building situated in a clustered community of residential houses and other small businesses. Firefighters were still working to put out flames around 8.
Tom Dunayeski, who lives in the house next door, spotted the smoke and called emergency services.
“I was sitting in my backyard when I saw a puff of smoke come out of the roof,” he said. “A few minutes later, a larger puff of smoke came out. That’s when I called it in. It didn’t take long (to burn).”
The building complex on Valley Street was home to three automobile businesses: Blackstone Motors, Jim’s Auto Body and Suburban Auto.
The owners of Jim’s Auto Body, James and Darlene Scanlon, were at the scene Friday.
“This is our business. This is our life,” said a teary-eyed Darlene Scanlon. “We have antique cars in there that can’t be replaced. We have customers cars in there, too.”
According to Darlene Scanlon, several explosive components were located inside the building, including automobile paint, propane tanks, welding materials, oil and other items.
Mark Zagaglia owned a second business in the complex, Suburban Auto, for more than 30 years. His son and employee, Ryan Zagaglia, 17, saw the smoke that evening from Henry’s Auto Parts on Rathbun Street.
“I saw (it) and said, ‘There goes my livelihood’ It’s upsetting. We spent a lot of time there. The building doesn’t worry me as much, but I’d like to get the cars out.”
According to Zagaglia, several antique cars were inside, including a 1986 Mustang, a 1967 GTO and 1953 Ford mainline. There were also several other customer cars in the shop’s bays.
Some onlookers recalled a blaze that destroyed the Hideaway Pub on Carter Avenue, not far from Valley Street, almost a year ago.
“It’s been twice in a year’s time,” said Constance D. Perreault, chairwoman of the Blackstone Board of Selectmen. “With the economy being the way it is … it’s really a tragedy.”
The fire could be seen from miles, with sightings reported from Route 126 in Bellingham to the Social Street area in Woonsocket and at Woonsocket High School’s commencement exercises at Barry Field, across the city.
At the scene, Robert J. Dubois, another Blackstone selectman, said, “It’s a shame that another business goes down in Blackstone, but (the firefighters) are doing their best to contain it.”
Hundreds of local residents came out for the spectacle, crowding into nearby Precious Blood Cemetery to watch firefighters battle the massive blaze.
“This stinks for the owners, but everyone likes watching fires for some reason,” said bystander John Alexander of Woonsocket. “I hope they have insurance.”
“It’s sad, but what can you do?” said bystander Jordan Deletti of Blackstone. “I hope no one was hurt.”
Responding to the scene were members of the Blackstone fire and police departments, as well as mutual aid from nearby communities including Bellingham, Millville, Woonsocket and Mendon.
Also at the scene were personnel from the Salvation Army’s Emergency Disaster Services and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
A section of Rathbun Street was blocked to traffic Friday. Officials are investigating the cause of the blaze.