Arriving employees discover fire at dental clinic in South Point Shopping Ctr. Thursday

LIVINGSTON —Fire Chief Corky Cochran said employees arriving for work at a dental clinic in the South Point Shopping Center on Pan American Drive discovered an internal fire alarm had been activated and called the fire department at 7:46 a.m.. Wednesday. Two firefighters who arrived first on the scene found heavy smoke in the building and found fire at the back of the building in an examination/treatment room, Cochran said. “It could have been smoldering for some time,” he added. There was no visible smoke from outside the building, but once firefighters were inside the building that had to battle intense smoke to work to the back of the building and the main source of the fire. The cause is under investigation by Livingston Fire Marshal Josh Mohler. Onalaska and Scenic Loop crews responded to help relieve LVFD crews with smoke extraction and ensuring that none of the businesses in the adjacent buildings were affected. Cochran also commended efforts by the City of Livingston electric crews, police department, public works director, Americare EMS and the sheriff’s department who went “above and beyond” to assist LVFD