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© St. Petersburg Times, published October 24, 2001
CLEARWATER -- On his way back to work from lunch Tuesday, Steven Leser saw a ladder truck roll past his car.
Then he saw where the truck was going. He turned to his boss, Faye Ray, and said: "I think that's your place."
Indeed, smoke was curling from the Casket and Urn Gallery, 2689 Sunset Point Road, a business Ray has owned for about 12 years.
Firefighters entered the small building and found a fire in the back, which had spread into the attic. It took about a half-hour for firefighters to put out the blaze, which blackened the inside of the business and caused damage initially estimated at $100,000, fire officials said.
But Ray, whose business offers prearranged burial and cremation services, wanted her customers to know everything will be okay. She is insured, all the items at the business were only for display and her records were salvaged.
"We're not going to miss a beat," she said. "This was only a showroom."
The cause of the blaze was believed to be accidental, said Clearwater District Chief Dean Edwards. He declined to name a specific cause until an investigation is complete.
Firefighters responded to the blaze at 1:24 p.m. after a 911 call. A neighbor had spotted the smoke and tried to douse the flames with a garden house. About 22 firefighters, equipped with seven engines and firetrucks, fought the blaze.
"There was a lot of smoke," Edwards said.
The eastbound lanes of Sunset Point Road east of U.S. 19 were closed until 3:10 p.m. while fire crews worked at the scene.
Leser said he has worked at the business, where he is helping set up a Web site, only about 10 days. When he first saw smoke coming from the business, he thought it would cause only minor damage.
"I had hopes it would be a garbage can on fire, and we could clean it up and go about our business," he said.
Ray said she planned to be open for business today.