Cause revealed for Sunday morning fire that destroyed a Hilton Head Starbucks

An enormous fire engulfed Starbucks at Sea Turtle Marketplace on William Hilton Parkway early Sunday morning, leaving the coffee shop in ruins.

“The whole roof collapsed into the store,” said Hilton Head Fire/Rescue spokeswoman Joheida Fister.

Firefighters first responded to the scene of the fire at 1:10 a.m. after it was reported by a Beaufort County Sheriff’s deputy who saw smoke in the area and subsequently discovered the fire, a Hilton Head Fire/Rescue news release said.

Investigation of the scene after the fire was extinguished revealed that it likely began in the electrical room of the building, spreading to the attic of the coffee shop. The fire in the attic coupled with the water from fire suppression efforts is believed to be what caused the collapse of the roof, the release said. The fire was ruled accidental by investigators.

Damage is estimated to be incredibly severe owing to the roof collapse, the release said. The tax assessed value of the property was listed in the release as $271,000.

Nobody was hurt in the blaze, Fister said.

“It is obviously pretty early in the game to make any calls on what the future location of the store would be or if we would rebuild,” said Starbucks spokesperson Reggie Borges. “What I can tell you is that we’re really grateful that no one was hurt, and right now we’re just working with the fire department in Hilton Head to better understand what happened.”

Borges said that hopefully Starbucks should have more information to share with the public about their plans following the fire later this week or next week.

The coffee shop, located at the north end of Hilton Head Island, suffered roof damage when Tropical Storm Irma hit the area in September. That damage allowed the building to flood and led to it being closed for over two weeks following the storm.

There were also plans to temporarily relocate the Sea Turtle Marketplace Starbucks while the current location was demolished and a new Starbucks was built in the same location.

This story was originally published January 21, 2018 at 9:14 AM with the headline "Cause revealed for Sunday morning fire that destroyed a Hilton Head Starbucks."