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Blaze damages truck stop By DAMIAN MANN,Mail Tribune Mar 21, 2005 12:00 AM A A Pilot Travel Center, two other Central Point businesses are forced to close down A fire damaged the Pilot Travel Center in Central Point at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, shutting down the 24-hour truck stop off Interstate 5 as well as two other businesses. It really did a number on that building, said Rodney Edwards, battalion chief of Fire District 3. Most of the fire damage was confined to the east end of the building, where the restrooms, laundry facility, showers and storerooms are located. Flames also made their way through the attic, buckling the metal roof and coating everything below with soot and leading to water damage. A Taco Bell and Subway sandwich shop in the west end of the building were closed because of smoke and damage in the attic. There is no sprinkler system in the building. — A convenience market in the center of the building was damaged by water and soot, and the ceiling caved in, exposing the attic. Most of the fire, which was believed to have started because of an electrical short, was out within about an hour and a half, but fire crews were still clearing out smoldering debris Sunday afternoon. The guys had to literally hand-pack magazines and papers out of the building, said Edwards. Although black smoke billowed out the doors and roof, Edwards said, Fire damage is not evident from the outside. He said Pilot representatives estimated there was roughly & 36;250,000 of inventory lost, which includes & 36;29,000 in videotapes alone. No damage estimates were available on the building itself and there were no estimates when it might reopen. A Pilot manager referred any questions to corporate headquarters, but the offices were closed Sunday. The cause of the blaze appears to be from an electrical panel in the east end of the building, said Edwards, the Fire District — battalion chief. No one was injured. Customers were evacuated from the building as 40 firefighters from Fire District — and Medford arrived on the scene with about a dozen emergency vehicles. Edwards said the fire had gone undetected for some time, possibly because of where it began. Despite the extensive damage, Edwards said, We consider the building to be saved, but it will have to be gutted and redone. Because the Pilot Travel Center generates a lot of truck traffic, Edwards said its closure is definitely going to put a crimp in the businesses around Central Point. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail