VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Editor's note: The story has been updated with clarification on the investigation into the fire, saying the location of where the fire started is unclear.
A three-alarm fire at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront Tuesday evening left several businesses destroyed and required a response of more than 75 firefighters.
The Virginia Beach Fire Department worked late into the night to put out the fire on Atlantic Avenue. It was deemed out around 10:45 p.m., but firefighters continued to search for hotspots into Wednesday morning.
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It's unknown what caused the fire at this time, but fire officials say they've ruled out arson. Here's a look at what 13News Now has gathered about the fire so far:
Several Oceanfront businesses were destroyed, 1 firefighter was hurt
The fire badly damaged the T-Shirt Factory, the Maple Tree Pancake & Waffle House, King of the Sea Restaurant, and Lyfestyle Meals. All occupants were accounted for and safe, but the severity of the damage is hitting businesses hard.
One firefighter was taken to the hospital because of a burn injury.
Virginia Beach fire response took several hours
A spokesperson for the Virginia Beach Fire Department said that firefighters started battling the blaze at around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the T-Shirt Factory.
In a clarification Thursday, fire officials said the location of where the fire started is unclear. Deputy Fire Marshall Jim Ingledue said while his team saw smoke coming from the T-Shirt Factory, the exact place where it started is unknown.
Shortly before 6:40 p.m., as the fire spread to neighboring businesses, the response was upgraded to a three-alarm.
Virginia Beach Fire Chief Ken Pravetz said this fire has been difficult to fight because of all the "void spaces."
After the fire was deemed out, firefighters were fighting outbreaks, using backhoes to pull the rubble and debris apart so they could get to hot spots throughout the night.
Firefighters finally began clearing out at around 5:20 a.m. Wednesday, but crews remain to put out potential hotspots.
The owners of the T-Shirt Factory told 13News Now they do not believe the fire originated at their store.
Building's age complicated efforts to put out fire
Capt. Jim Ingledue, the Virginia Beach deputy fire marshal, said the building where the fire happened is more than 60 years old and the structure made it challenging to battle the blaze.
Because owners renovated the businesses several times over the years, it has several ceilings from the add-ons to the structure, according to Ingledue.
This created layers for fire crews to have to demolish in order to get to the heart of the fire. Firefighters couldn't work directly on top of the roof because of the danger of collapsing.
"We say all the time, 'we're chasing this fire' because it's spreading but you can't really tell where it's going, because you can't really see where it's going," Ingledue said. "It's a very difficult type of fire to fight and the firefighters worked really hard."
Ingledue added that the Virginia Beach Fire Department has a lot of work to do to investigate what happened.