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Fire destroys downtown businesses
By Michael Butler
An early morning fire on Monday that began at Smarty Pants Consignment Shop spread to the Hotel Talisi and left little to be salvaged. 16 different fire agencies halted the fire by afternoon which left two historic buildings as brick facades, their shells filled with ashes.
An arrest has been made of a 17-year-old juvenile in connection with the blaze. The suspect is a minor, so no information can be released. It is believed that the individual broke into the Smarty Pants store, took items and then started the fire. The charges include two counts of Arson 2nd, one count of Burglary 3rd, one count of Theft 3rd, and two counts of Criminal Mischief 1st.
The suspect is being held at the Montgomery Youth Facility. "He's in trouble," Tallassee Mayor George McCain said. "We got a written confession. As far as I know, he acted alone. There was a truck that was set on fire a (few) weeks ago (in the back alley near the hotel). We don't know yet if he was the one that did that."
The Smarty Pants building was a total loss. Excavator trucks pushed over the walls Monday evening.
The bottom level of the hotel was still intact, yet there was water damage. The second and third level exterior walls are expected to be torn down for safety reasons. The Heart of Dance Studio next to the hotel also has water damage.
"The call came into dispatch about 3:30," McCain said. "The fire began in the back part of the building (Smarty Pants). It's just a sad day."
Brian Taylor was one of four people staying at the hotel when he got an early wake up call. "We were rousted out of the bed by the hotel owners," Taylor said. "We could see that the fire was right up to the building. As we came out of the building some of Smarty Pants started to collapse."
"I could feel the heat in front of my house," Bill Goss said, who lives on James Street about 200 feet away from where the fire started. "It was so intense. Thank goodness for the ladder truck from Wetumpka. It started pooring water into both buildings which contained it. There were fire vehicles here from everywhere. I counted 14 on Barnett, four on James and two on Sistrunk; at least three ladder trucks."
The building that encompasses Mike Harper's law firm is located at the corner of Barnett and Ann. It was formerly the Bank of Tallassee. It was rebuilt in 1932 after a fire destroyed it. Harper departed from his home at Emerald Mountain before dawn in an effort to get some of his belongings in case the fire reached his office.
"We got some smoke damage in the back," Harper said. "The firemen did a whale of a job. It could have been so much worse."
The Hotel Talisi is synonymous with Tallassee, and world renowned for its restaurant. It had just re-opened on November 4th after being closed for close to a year.
Smarty Pants just relocated to the corner of Ann and James Steet. The building has housed several businesses over the years including Skinners and Home Funitiure Stores. Smarty Pants held their re-grand opening on November 6th. Both buildings had undergone recent renovations but date back to the late 1920's.
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