Battle to control blaze lasts nearly 12 hours after fire erupts during Covington movie night

NEWTON COUNTY, Ga. — The battle to get a fire under control in downtown Covington continues.

Joe Doss, the city of Covington Interim Fire Chief, told Channel 2 Action News crews were dispatched to a fire in the city square around 9 p.m. Friday.

When crews arrived, at least one building had heavy flames inside.

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At the time of the fire, dozens of people were in the area for a movie night in the town square when they saw the flames.

Doss confirmed at least four businesses have been destroyed. They are Shelvie Jeans, Shear Bliss, The Dude Store and New Shoez.

Jim Williamson, the owner of Plain Nuts Deli & Catering, told Channel 2 Action News he raced to his business when he got the news.

“I’m scared to death; I have a bunch of employees that need a job,” he said. “I have insurance, but I don’t think enough to cover that.”

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Investigators confirmed that Williamson’s business was spared, but the impact of the fire on the town was tremendous.

Ken Malcom with the City of Covington said the downtown area is a tourist hot spot. Downtown Covington was also featured in several popular television and film productions such as “The Vampire Diaries” and “Dukes of Hazard.”

“It the last 12 months alone, we’ve had 690,000 people visit this very area we’re standing on right now,” he said. “They are coming from all over the world, and our merchants have been able to prosper from that.”

Like most historic downtown Covington, Doss said the building was at least a hundred years old.

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“It’s very sad to see it go down this way,” Alfredo Nava, a Covington resident, said.

No injuries have been reported in the fire.

As of 8:30 a.m., the fire is still active.

“Just keep us in your prayers; we need it,” Doss said.

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Fire rips through 100-year-old building in historic Ga. city, destroys at least 4 stores

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