MILTON — Sandy Miller has been coming to Fetter’s Meats since she was a child growing up here.

She pulled in Wednesday morning just as she always has, ready to buy her weekly bingo supplies, when she saw the damage caused by a fire Tuesday evening.

“I saw cars here, so I thought they were open. I had no idea,” Miller said. “Today was supposed to be fish and macaroni and cheese, so I was stopping for the fresh fish.”

A blaze Tuesday evening heavily damaged the rear storage area of Fetter’s Meats, which has been owned by Joe Snavely since 1975.

Meat cutter Sidney Mong, of Milton, works for Snavely and was at the business when the fire broke out.

“I ran upstairs, and it was already up to the ceiling,” Mong said. “There was nothing we could do. We just got out.”

Snavely and Mong believe the fire may have gotten its start near the business’ furnace, but a cause has yet to be determined. A state police fire marshal was expected on the scene today to investigate.

Firefighters had to cut through the building’s roof to knock down flames shooting from the second floor. Wednesday’s downpours dropped even more water onto the business’ sagging ceilings.

Quick response by firefighters saved most of the structure, but Snavely said water damage destroyed the majority of his merchandise, which included not just meat, but seafood, produce, sandwiches, canned goods and candies.

Snavely, who spent Wednesday on the phone with his insurance company, said he plans to reopen, but doesn’t know when that will be as the building will have to undergo reconstruction.

“I can’t believe it,” customer Cheryl Wilver said. She drove to Fetter’s Wednesday from New Columbia for some fresh corn. “I’ve been coming here for years,” she said.

Throughout the morning, several of Snavely’s employees and neighbors salvaged what they could out of a large freezer that escaped the fire unscathed. The merchandise will be stored in his personal freezers, as well as those of his friends, until the business can reopen.

Until then, Mong and 11 others are out of a job. He said he’ll likely do some roofing work with his grandfather until he can return to Fetter’s.

“It’s a good place to work, friendly people,” Mong said. “It’s my family.”

As for Miller, she’ll shop elsewhere for now, but looks forward to the day her hometown market is back in business.