CLEVELAND — Cleveland Fire officials have confirmed the cause of a fire at the Bridgeview Apartment Complex on West 9th street was accidental.
The fire started on the seventh floor of the apartments, and while no one was hurt, about 27 apartments and one business have water damage from the sprinkler.
That business which is located on the first floor of the complex is Fluff n’ Stuff, a doggy daycare, grooming and boarding business.
The owner, Marche Smith, opened the downtown location about a year ago. Clarissa Bonton is the general manager of the location. She was there on Tuesday when the fire broke out.
“I look up front and I’m like ‘Woah’ this just a big cloud of smoke engulfed us completely,” she said. “We felt the heat, especially, trying to get all the dogs packed up and ready to go.”
Bonton said for the past year, Smith has been working hard to make Fluff n’ Stuff a household name for animal parents in downtown Cleveland, and they were finally doing it.
“It was better than it’s ever been. We’re getting a consistent flow of clients, a family, building that family, like ‘oh Napoleon is coming in, oh Otto is coming in,’” said Bonton.
But now, water damage from Tuesday’s fire has forced them to shut their doors for the time being.
“It was just like pouring in there, to the point it was flooding,” said Bonton. “About 9:00 p.m. we came back to check on the place and it was still dripping water everywhere, floods everywhere,” she said.
There are now dozens of fans airing out the facility but they’re not sure exactly long it will take to get everything ready to reopen.
“We just want to make sure everything is safe for the dogs to come back,” said Bonton. “It’s very, very heartbreaking to see it go like this so quickly. We’ve only been open for a year.”
They’re confident when they do re-open it will be a relief for them and their four-legged family members.
“I remember that they’re family at the end of the day and our re-opening will be great,” she said.
Fluff n’ Stuff will have to replace most of their supplies, toys, beds and electronics. If you’d like to help, click here.
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