Fire chief: Abe's a ‘total loss'

Updated at 5 p.m.

MAYSVILLE — Authorities are investigating an early-morning fire at a Maysville convenience store, officials said Thursday.

Maysville Fire Department Chief Mike Jordan said a call came in at about 3:20 a.m. Thursday about a “fully-involved” fire at Abe’s Corner at U.S. 17 and N.C. 58 in Maysville.

When firefighters arrived at the scene, flames were coming out of the windows. Jordan said the fire was under control in about 30 minutes.

“The fire damaged the block building, with the area around the cash registers being the most heavily damaged and the windows are all broken,” Maysville Town Commissioner Dan Ryan said Thursday in an e-mail to constituents.

Seven fire departments from three counties responded, with more than 60 firefighters at the scene, Jordan said.

Maysville, Pollocksville, Belgrade, Loco, Trenton, White Oak and Stella VFDs were on scene, as well as Jones County and Maysville EMS, the Jones County Sheriff’s Office, the Maysville Police Department and the State Bureau of Investigation, Jordan said.

The building is a total loss, although the cost of damages has not been determined.

The State Bureau of Investigation was called in to investigate the cause of the fire because of the department’s limited resources, Jordan said. The investigation is ongoing.

SBI officials confirmed the agency’s involvement in the case, but said further details could not yet be released.

Owner Frank Monette was unable to be reached for comment.

Last month, 23-year-old Abrahim Ahmed Qatabi, an employee at Abe’s Corner, was accused of stealing a winning lottery ticket from a customer, according to previous Daily News reports.

Qatabi was charged Aug. 27 by the Jones County Sheriff’s Office with two counts of obtaining property by false pretense and one count of carrying a concealed weapon.

MAYSVILLE — Authorities are investigating an early-morning fire at a Maysville convenience store, officials said Thursday.

Maysville Fire Department Chief Mike Jordan said a call came in at about 3:20 a.m. Thursday about a “fully-involved” fire at Abe’s Corner at U.S. 17 and N.C. 58.

When firefighters arrived at the scene, flames were coming out of the windows, Jordan said. The fire was under control in about 30 minutes.

Seven fire departments from three counties responded, with more than 60 firefighters at the scene, he said. The building is a total loss, although the cost of damages has not been determined.

The State Bureau of Investigation was called in to investigate the cause of the fire because of the department’s limited resources, Jordan said. The investigation is ongoing.

Authorities are investigating an early-morning fire at Abe's Corner Store #1, a convenience store on N.C. 58 in Maysville, a deputy with the Jones County Sheriff's Office said Thursday.

The deputy said he did not know details yet, but that the State Bureau of Investigation was involved in the investigation.

Last month, 23-year-old Abrahim Ahmed Qatabi, an employee at Abe's Corner, was accused of stealing a winning lottery ticket from a customer, according to previous Daily News reports.

Stay with jdnews.com for more on this developing story.