Fire Destroys Clement Hill Furniture Outlet in Muscle Shoals

The inside of a Muscle Shoals business is basically a pile of ashes. After 14 years in business, a fire destroyed Clement Hill Furniture Outlet. The business has been housed in an 18,000 square foot building on State Street for the past nine years. Darlene Hill, the furniture store owner, says she never imagined that this was the way her business would come to an end.

"It really is like a part of you going up in smoke," says Hill.

Hill couldn't believe her eyes on Thursday night. She and her husband watched as firefighters doused the flames consuming their furniture store.

"It is just really a shock to us," says Hill.

The blaze burned into the early morning hours on Friday. Even after the fire was out, hot spots threatened to flare up at any time. All that's left now is a melted store sign, charred furniture, and a lot of memories.

"It was the skating rink when I grew up," explains Hill. "A lot of people have skated there and had a lot of fun."

At least three nightclubs occupied the space before the Hills purchased the building in 2000. Darlene Hill also taught piano lessons at the facility on the side. Hill says seeing the fire was like watching a small part of history get destroyed.

"I've been trying for a year and a half to keep our business going, but the economy is so bad," says Hill. "This is just like my baby. My kids are grown and I loved my business."

Clement Hill Furniture Outlet was open for business as usual on Thursday because a retirement sale was going on. Even though the building is very old, Hill says they never dealt with any major problems.

"We didn't notice anything," says Hill. "We closed up Thursday night and as soon as we got home, we got the call."

At this time, no one knows what started the fire. A deputy state fire marshal and an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are working with fire inspectors in Muscle Shoals to figure out the cause. However, getting the the root cause of the fire is a process and could take some time.

"We're going to do a complete, thorough investigation," says Muscle Shoals Fire Inspector Donald Ray Coons. "It's going to probably be two or three days before we can finish our investigation."