A tattered sign partially covers the charred remains of a beauty supply store at 19th Street and Cheltenham Avenue, where the fire was first reported. It quickly spread and reached three alarms.
Fire chief Kevin Lynch says this took nearly three hours to get under control, and they are sticking around to make sure it stays that way.
"There are still hot spots located in the basement in the original storefront, where the fire originated. We're waiting for heave machinery to show up," he said. "Crews are still on scene monitoring, on standby, in the event that it does flare up, for extinguishment."
He says the wig store is a total loss and at least four other stores were damaged. The good news is nobody was hurt.
The owner of the smoke shop next door to the wig store was picking up some belongings that weren't destroyed and said the fire is just devastating.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.