Arson blamed in W. Central fire

A fire attributed to arson shut down on Sunday a small grocery store with a 12-year history in the West Central community.

Firefighters found a rapidly spreading fire at Bong’s Market, 2040 W. Boone Ave., when they arrived just before 3 a.m. Sunday. Neighbors reported seeing flames shooting from the roof.

The store’s owner, Bong Cho, sat on the curb outside her store on Sunday afternoon, promising to rebuild and possibly expand. The store was insured, said Cho, who hopes to reopen within six months. She said the Spokane Fire Department’s investigator has the videotape taken from her security camera, which was mounted outside the store.

“Hopefully, they’ll see something,” she said.

Cho said she can’t imagine who would have set her business on fire, but suspects that bored young people are likely to blame.

“Ninety percent of the people who come into my store call me ‘Mama Bong,’ ” Cho said. “I have no enemies.”

Marc Miller, a friend and customer of Cho’s who lives across the street, said the loss of the store will be a blow to the neighborhood. He said Cho’s store goes beyond a convenience store, and even carries hardware supplies.

“A lot of people depend on a neighborhood grocery,” Miller said. “She has everything.”

When fire crews arrived, they found it tough to get quickly into the building, due to doors and windows heavily secured with steel bars, a news release from the fire department said.

Firefighters used power saws and other heavy duty tools to force the doors open and stretch hose lines into the building. Within about 30 minutes, the crews were able to gain control of the fire and limit its spread, the release said.

However, the fire did $150,000 worth of damage and destroyed the store’s inventory, the release said. Food and beverage items not destroyed by the fire are not fit for human consumption, the release said.