SURREY - A massive four-alarm fire on Scott Road in Newton destroyed as many as nine businesses early Thursday morning, at 8318 Forest Hill Plaza.

Surrey Deputy Fire Chief Larry Thomas said dozens of firefighters encountered heavy smoke when they were called to the scene, at about 2:30 a.m.

"There were no injuries, and no occupants in the building as far as we're aware of," he said at the scene. "It was a very deep-seated fire."

Scott Road has been closed between 82nd and 84th avenues.

"There's going to be lots of hot spots all day," Thomas noted as white smoke billowed from the charred wreckage, silhouetting the firefighters who were blasting water down from cranes high above.

"There's no idea what caused it," Thomas said of the fire. "It's unsafe to do any investigation at this time. So we need to get it cooled down before we can investigate."

Bombay Palki Restaurant, City Pizza, a currency exchange and an accountants office were among those businesses heavily damaged or destroyed. Some businesses on the second floor were literally vaporized.

Laura Stevens, of Whalley, worked at one of them - J.P. Moore Investigations Ltd. Tears rolled down her check as she gazed at the destruction.

"It's completely gone. Everything. I'm stunned," she said. She heard about the fire on the morning news and high-tailed it to the scene.

"It's hard to fathom. It's hard to see. We'll start somewhere else, but all of that takes time.

"A lot of people are wondering how they're going to pay the rent."

tzytaruk@thenownewspaper.com