ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Authorities believe someone intentionally set a St. Augustine barbershop on fire last Thursday. Owners say they are doing everything they can to make sure whoever did it will be held accountable.
Charred hair utensils, burned chairs, and fallen ceiling tiles are all that's left of Kings Chair Barbershop in St. Augustine.
"We had a cocktail here, a plastic container with a t-shirt in it. This is the hotspot here, and then it spread abroad. It was shocking, you could not speak," Owner Moses Floyd said.
Investigators say the fire started near the first workstation and very little is salvageable.
"We didn't build this facility to burn down," Floyd said.
Floyd says his family recently invested about $25,000 to remodel the business installing new cabinets, mirrors and chairs. However, he says they're forced to start all over and now six of his employees are scrambling for work just weeks before Christmas.
"This is the best part of the season in terms of haircuts, and this happens, and nobody expects that," Floyd said.
Floyd says he thinks he knows who might be to blame for the blaze but is leaving it up to authorities to investigate.
"We try to help people as much as possible and sometimes there is an old saying that no good deed goes unpunished. We're just grateful to God the whole place didn't burn down," Floyd said.
Floyd says he isn't going to let the fire destroy his business and says he looks forward to getting the shop back up and running as soon as he can.
"No pain, no gain, we have to stay right here and get it done. We will be right here to serve the community. We're going to show the community that we are here to stay," Floyd said.
The St. Augustine Police Department is investigating the fire as arson.
Floyd says he is offering a $5,000 reward to anyone who can provide information leading to an arrest.
For customers of the barbershop, Floyd says they are working to get back up and running at some capacity very soon.
If you'd like to donate to get the business back on its feet, you can donate to the fundraiser here.