RICHMOND, Va. -- The fire at a western Henrico office building that displaced several local small businesses has now ignited a legal battle over who’s to blame for the blaze.
A lawsuit was filed last month by bow-making company Annie Mae & Wes against massage clinic Bodhi Center, its former building mate at 10615 Patterson Ave. in the Canterbury Green retail and office strip center.
Annie Mae & Wes, which makes hair bows for cheerleaders and last year was among the region’s fastest-growing companies, claims Bodhi caused the January fire that destroyed the building and forced the two businesses and several of their neighbors to search for new homes.
The 4-page complaint filed April 23 claims a Bodhi employee left chemical soaked towels out overnight upon closing on Jan. 22. The towels then allegedly “spontaneously combusted and caught fire” between that evening and early the next morning Jan. 23.
