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destroys four businesses on Aurora s main street Officials probing cause of Friday night disaster Instructions at height of blaze Friday night IB Firemen administer oxygen to Aurora fire fighter Joe after he moke and hit by a light fixture while Insldi AURORA Four St businesses were destroyed In a fire Friday night that occupied firemen from four departments for about five hours No cause or value of the dam age have been determined Aurora Fire Chief Gortl Burling said Mon day One report assessed damage at 500000 but the chief said any estimate at this point would be a wild guess The blaze was under invest lion Monday by officials and derwritcrs from the Ontario Fire Marshals office The fire began shortly after pm Friday in the Textile Bar gain Centre 28 St South spread upstairs to an apartment then into the adjacent Maher Shoes building to the north When it was all over two other businesses By Dr Blacks dentist office over the store and both floors of the McPhcrson and Bin- law offices had been tie- CONVERTED ALLEY Chief Burling salt the blaze apparently began In the back of the textile shop which had been from an alley At one point firemen thought the fire was confined to the tex tile shop and we thought we had her beaten the chief said But after breaking into Matters fire men discovered the entire wall was ablaze between the two stores Chief Burling criticized the construction methods used when the alley was filled In to enclose Instead of bricking up the windows between the stores they put up fibreboard Chief Bur ling said We poked into the wall and found II whole thing was on Newmarket firefighters joined Auroras crew within minutes after the alarm and shortly midnight when the building roof caved in a pumper from Richmond Hill and an aerial from Vauglian were called in nforce the local troops were taken by ambulance to York County Hospital after suffering smoke inhalation Mr was hit by a light fixture while he and other members of an Aurora hose crew were inside he build ing Both were back on their feet Saturday OFFICES RELOCATED On Sunday the and law offices were moved across the street to the old post office building owned by John Dol All Dr Blacks equipment was lost but miraculously all his re cords including accounts that werent even enclosed in filing cabinets were saved That was an act of God Mrs Black said Monday There was a lot of prayer going on here believe me We brought out the re cords after the fire and some were wet and singed but we could She added that the fire will not force Dr Black to abandon his practice Notices will be published next week on his new location she Alan partner In the law firm said Sunday 11 at most of the records were saved We were pretty fortunate he said WORSE DISASTER FEARED At one point firemen were worried that the flames might reach Paint Store which could have caused a disaster of worse proportions But the fire was contained at the law offices Office equipment was moved out of J and Service and Supply two doors south of the textile shop but J and B incurred only smoke and water damage Age of the building housing the store is estimated at about a century two local histor ians Dorothy Ciark McClure and Howard Oliver told Era It ap parently was built shortly after a major blaze wiped out the west side of St in the 1870s or Mr Oliver said The fire occurred one year to the day from the Office Spe cialty fire in Newmarket on April burned sign of Textile Bargain Centre firefighters pour water onto blaze in building In an unidentified Richmond Hill firemen anil Dave Wright of lie This Is the fire looked Saturday morning Firemen remove copying machine from Office equipment from J and Service and Supply was removed as a and law offices Some precautionary measure shortly after the fire began but he blaze didnt equipment was In Knapps Iaint Store met the store some in Aurora Travel agency built and where fire broke through Into the shoe s