Belleville businesses and schools are reopening after being forced to close due to a warehouse fire
Many of the 14 businesses along Washington Avenue in Belleville are opening their doors today for the first time since Sunday. Township officials says all 11 schools in the district will resume classes on Thursday.
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Business along busy Washington Avenue in Belleville that were forced to shutdown due to the massive warehouse fire are reopened to customers on Wednesday.
There are 14 businesses along Washington Avenue between Joralemon and Essex streets. Intense smoke, a lack of electricity and water pressure caused some to close down on Sunday. That stretch of road is also expected to reopen to traffic this evening.
Those businesses owners say they've been taking a financial hit and can't afford to stay closed any longer.
“Yes, we lost a lot because of a lot of missed appointments. I take about 15 clients a day," said Amy Alarcon, the owner of Browology.
Eddie Colon owns a supplement shop called Body Delights.
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“I have a few people coming down right now but with the police over here they pretty much stop a lot of traffic from coming in so it has slowed down business drastically. But Belleville has done a pretty good job," said Colon.
A few doors down at Smile and Shine Dentistry, the water pressure has returned just enough for Dr. Ishani Mehta, to get patients back in her chair.
“The pressure is a little low. I just checked, hopefully it doesn’t cause much issue later on. A loss of two days is a lot for us being a small business owner," said Dr. Mehta
Township officials say due to an improvement in air quality, schools will reopen on Thursday. Students in Belleville haven't been to classes since Friday.
Several homeowners are also returning to their homes now that the smoke has dissipated.
However, the Belleville mayor says that there are still 51 homes closest to the fire that are still without power.
