ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. -- Fireworks may have sparked a fire at a Hopkins business Tuesday morning.
The Treasures and Treats store located at a strip mall on Shady Oak Road and Main Street in Hopkins suffered extensive damage from a fire on Tuesday morning.
The store's owner, Becky Aspelund, told KARE 11 that earlier, there was a fireworks demo in the parking lot of the store. She said the fire started later in the office or furnace room of the store.
"Our June and July are like Christmas season, that holds us through the rest of the year," Aspelund told reporters. "We've never made a lot through the store, it's more of a passion of our hearts and the neighborhood than it is anything else."
But authorities believe the fire may have started on the store's roof after particles from the fireworks fell on it during the demonstration, according to a spokesperson from the Hopkins Police Department. Aspelund says that is not the case.
Investigators say damage to the 4,000 square foot store is extensive and some adjoining stores suffered some smoke and water damage as well.
The multi-alarm fire spread to the front of the store setting off nearly $1,000 worth of fireworks.
Aspelund described the fireworks exploding during the fire as a Fourth of July fireworks show without the lights, only the noise.
Aspelund and her husband have owned the Treasures and Treats store for the last seven years. She was visually emotional as she talked about what it means to her and her husband Mitch. "It's amazing how quickly one's life can change," Aspelund said with tears in her eyes. "This is what we planned on doing till we retired. I don't know what's in store now for us. I don't know."
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