Historic downtown Cumming drug store catches fire Sunday evening

CUMMING, Ga. - Multiple roads around downtown Cumming were blocked off late Sunday evening while the Forsyth County Fire Department worked to put out a fire that broke out at a staple drug store in the community.

The Goodson Drug Company located at 116 West Maple Street burst into flames on Sunday night. Officials are still trying to figure out why.

They received the call about the fire at around 7 p.m. When they arrived, they said they saw heavy smoke coming from the building.

At the height of the fire, there were 11 units on the scene. Officials said they took a heavy-handed approach because of the size and age of the building, and out of concern that it could spread to buildings nearby.

As of 8:50 p.m., Capt. Jason Shivers confirmed that the fire was considered to be under control, but there was "significant salvage" that would have to take place.

Goodson’s is a family owned staple that has reportedly been providing prescriptions to people in the Cumming community for almost 70 years. Battalion Chief Scott Kennedy said it was possible some of the prescriptions inside the building were impacted.

"It is a regular pharmacy and a full pharmacy, so there’s probably a significant amount of prescriptions, a significant amount of drugs that have to be dealt with," Kennedy explained. "It's a good family business … like you said, they’ve been here for a long time and really supported the community in a lot of different ways. So, hopefully, [they'll] be able get back on their feet."

Kennedy said there was a firewall inside the building which very likely helped prevent the fire from spreading.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.