Longtime community grocery store destroyed in fire; investigation ongoing

Photo of Jequetas #2 taken 7/25/23

At around 2:00am Monday morning, a person driving a garbage truck past 786 E. Whittier St. noticed billows of smoke leaking from the windows and roof of the now-destroyed convenience store, Jequeta #2. The good samaritan immediately called to report it.

The fire department arrived on scene at approximately 2:36am, but flames were already spreading rapidly throughout the long-time Southside staple, potentially causing a roof collapse, so a swift decision to switch to defensive mode was made, according to Battalion Chief Jeffrey Geitter. “The fire had a head start on us, so we had to spray water from the trucks to contain the fire to just the building,” he remarked.

Firefighters were on the scene distinguishing the last of the flames until around 11:00am Monday morning.

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The current cause of the fire is still under investigation. Fortunately, no civilians were injured. “We had a good grasp that no one else was in the building,” said Chief Geitter. Two other storefronts, directly connected to the building of Jaquetas were completely destroyed as well, but Chief Geitter said they were vacant.

One firefighter was transported to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center during the call due to a medical condition that was unrelated to the fire, but this firefighter is stable and has now been released from care.