Gamber & Community Fire Co. assisted Hampstead Volunteer Fire Co. with a building fire on Saturday, September 3, 2022. The fire at the Dollar General store in the 800 block of S. Main St. went to a second alarm and Gamber’s Engine 131 responded to the scene.

The crew from Gamber assisted with roof operations and ventilation. Later in the incident, Engine 134 was alerted to fill-in Hampstead Station 2.

In addition to Hampstead Volunteer Fire Co., units from several other Carroll County fire departments, Baltimore County, and York County Pennsylvania also assisted with the early evening fire.

The Dollar General store has been declared a total loss with damages estimated to be $2.5 million. "Virtually, the only thing that's standing right now, it's just the four walls," said Oliver Alkire, Senior Deputy State Fire Marshal. "The fire completely destroyed everything within the store. It was a very ravaging fire. It destroyed all the product as well as the structural members of the actual store. So, we have sagging roof beams. We are considering a complete loss of $2 1/2 million."

Investigators said they believe the fire started around 5 p.m. near an aisle in the rear of the store. It took more than 100 firefighters more than an hour to get the fire under control.

"Our investigators have narrowed down that area of origin. They're going through each product that was in that general area. We want to make sure that all our Is are dotted and our Ts are crossed," Alkire said. "The exact cause is under investigation."

Further investigation is being conducted by the Office of the State Fire Marshal.