Thursday morning fire damages newly opened Mystic barbershop
Mystic — A recently opened barbershop is closed after a Thursday morning fire destroyed the interior of the building.
The landlord of the building, a former garage behind 29 Broadway Ave. in Mystic, tried to put out the fire with a handheld extinguisher before calling the fire department about 8 a.m. Thursday morning, Mystic Fire Chief Frank "Fritz" Hilbert said.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze at Murphy's Barbershop & Social Club in about 10 minutes in single-digit temperatures and prevented any structural damage to the building, Hilbert said, but the furniture and equipment inside the shop were destroyed. Hilbert said the fire may have been caused by an electrical problem but the cause is under investigation.
"The contents are a total loss," he said.
No people were in the shop at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported, Hilbert said.
The shop, which opened only months ago, will not be immediately habitable.
"It'll take some extensive renovation to get it back in shape again," Hilbert said.
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