A downtown Fayetteville business was heavily damaged by fire Thursday morning.

The fire at Once in a Lifetime Events was reported at 7:44 a.m. by a passerby, and Fayetteville fire crews responded to put out the flames. Firefighters limited the flames to Once in a Lifetime Events, but smoke and water damage extended to the nearby Rene Victor Bidez Inc. Photography and to SGO Designer Glass.

No one was in Once in a Lifetime Events at the time of the fire, and owner Paul-ann Gray said the store was fine around 5 a.m. on her way back from a gym workout.

“It looked great,” Gray said, saying that added to her surprise when a friend called her about the fire.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but an investigation is taking place, officials said.

Gray said she would re-establish her business because she loves what she does.

“And half the people in Fayetteville would probably track me down anyway,” she said, laughing.

After the blaze was extinguished, firefighters retrieved Gray’s computers and other items that were salvageable.

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