Fire Leaves Tulsa Business Owners Wondering What's Next

Several Tulsa business owners are trying to figure out what's next after a fire damaged their building.

Firefighters said it started behind Leo's Pizza near 61st and Peoria. They still don't know what caused the fire, leaving the people who own the restaurant wondering what happened.

Mari Ramirez and her mother opened Leo’s Pizza two years ago. Monday, she and her family watched as firefighters worked to save it.

"It's really sad because we work a lot for this. We already have two years and it's something you never think is going to happen," she said. "We don't have insurance, we don't really know what we're going to do now."

The Tulsa Fire Department said the fire started sometime before 10:30 Monday morning.

"They had flames and smoke showing out of the west end of the building - out of the soft, the add-on, which used to be a shingled roof, but they added some metal roofing and it managed to run halfway down the building," said Stan May with TFD.

While firefighters knocked down the flames quickly, the businesses in the shopping center are still dealing with damage.

"There's smoke damage in at least half of those businesses that are there and there's going to be quite a bit of water damage on this end," May said.

Ramirez said her mother always dreamed of owning her own business, and now they are back to square one and don't know what's next.

Ramirez: "It's just like a small business. Our neighbor, you know, she's a small business and they support their family, and I think this is not fair right now."
Erin: “Do you think you'll be able to rebuild?”
Ramirez: “I hope so. We hope so."

There's no word yet when Leo's Pizza and the other businesses will be able to reopen.