A suspicious fire caused significant damage to the former Shell Mart convenience store south of Grayville early Sunday morning. The vacant building, located along Illinois Route 1 near Interstate 64, has been unoccupied for over a decade.
The Little Wabash Fire Department responded to the scene at approximately 2:44 a.m. Firefighters arrived to find a storage building adjacent to the former business fully engulfed in flames. The fire quickly spread to the roof of the main Shell Mart structure.
Fire Chief Travis Thompson reported that the front door of the building was found unlocked upon arrival. The gas station and convenience store, originally owned by the Dersch family of Mount Carmel and later sold to Twin Brothers Investments of Indianapolis, has been closed since the opening of a nearby Road Ranger location more than ten years ago.
Chief Thompson confirmed that the Illinois State Fire Marshal has been called in to investigate the cause of the fire. No injuries were reported in the incident.