Photos Show McMahan's Before and After Fire

Salem lost an old friend Thursday, and the absence of the McMahan's Furniture building on Commercial in downtown Salem is going to take some getting used to.

Glen Bledsoe of Salem-News.com took the before shot during a recent walk downtown, the after shot clearly shows the fire damage at McMahan's

(SALEM) - Some of the answers into what caused a multi-level Salem furniture store to burn down last week may not be known for a while. At this point due to safety concerns, structural engineers will not allow Fire Investigators to enter the building until the roof has been removed and the bearing walls have been shored up and secured.

Firefighters have been in the area since the costly fire started late last week. Older buildings the size of McMahan's can be hazardous during and after a fire, so they say every measure is being taken.

In fact, the damage estimate for McMahan's Furniture is $1,250,000. Investigators say this includes the building and its contents.

A company called Horizon Restoration is heading up the security and the demolition of the structure.

In the meanwhile, all businesses on State Street are open for business and access is available to these businesses. Nice work to Glen Bledsoe for this interesting comparison shot.