Maysville fire chief: Abe's a ‘total loss'

MAYSVILLE — Authorities are investigating a fire that destroyed a Maysville convenience store early Thursday morning.

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. The building is a total loss, Jordan said, 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 Maysville 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.

Store owner Frank Monette could not be reached for comment.

In August, 23-year-old Abrahim Ahmed Qatabi, an employee at Abe’s Corner, was accused of stealing a winning Powerball lottery ticket from a customer. Authorities said a winning Powerball ticket in the Aug. 18 drawing was worth $30,000.

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