ODESSA, TX (KWES) - Authorities are investigating an early morning fire at an Odessa clothing store as a possible act of arson, officials confirmed.
Flames broke out Thursday around 1:30 a.m. at Urban Wear, a business at a small strip mall in the 3600 block of N. Dixie Blvd.
Nobody was in the store and no injuries were reported, according to a city spokesperson.
Investigators have not released details about the possible cause of the fire.
Firefighters responded around 1:45 a.m. and spent approximately two hours working to extinguish the fire, witnesses said.
Insurance adjusters have yet to determine how much damage the store sustained, according to the landlord.
The blaze left plastic and paper signs on the front window partially melted and burned. Racks of clothing inside the store were charred and covered in thick layers of soot.
Gilbert Armenta, the owner of a neighboring business, said friends initially thought the flames were coming from his store.
"I got a call about 2 in the morning [informing me] that my place was the one on fire," he said.
Armenta rushed to his religious candle shop on N. Dixie Blvd and discovered the business next door was actually the source of the blaze.
"[Firefighters] got here just in time," he said. "The smoke started coming in... through the top [of our shared wall]. It was on its way into my store."
The candle shop sustained only minor smoke damage, Armenta said.
"All I have to say is, 'Thank God!'" he exclaimed.
