ROANOKE, Va. – After flames ripped through the Rebos Club, crews were on the ground Thursday trying to determine the cause of the fire and evaluate the aftermath.
This building was where lots of community meetings were held including AA meetings.
Roanoke County estimates the fire caused about $250,000 in damage.
Philip regularly attends meetings at the Rebos Club and was even there on Wednesday night.
“It’s that kind of thing that makes you, you know, shake a little bit when you’ve just been somewhere the night before and then you come back, I mean it’s gone,” Philip said. “I could always come and have support, right, and that’s what this place means to pretty much everyone in this community.”
“It’s just crushing, it just breaks my heart when I saw this,” Teresa, another attendee, said.
Roanoke County Fire & Rescue’s Brian Clingenpeel said that they’re thankful no one was injured, and the site is not in worse shape.
“Firefighters were able to make a fantastic stop and save on the other buildings so the older house that sits in front of the meeting hall and a little building that almost connects the two those are still have sustained very minimal damage,” Clingenpeel said.
The cause of this fire is still under investigation.
“It’s still too early to say if it’s suspicious probably in fact for several days it’s just going to be listed as undetermined,” Clingenpeel said.
Rebos Club leadership told 10 News on Thursday that they will be rebuilding, and various organizations and churches have already stepped up to offer meeting spaces for the near future.