An Emmet County business is destroyed by a fire. The business went up in smoke and flames this morning and sent emergency crews rushing to the scene. It happened at about 8:30 this morning at Alfie's Attic flower shop on US-31 just North of Petoskey.

At Alfie's Attic flower shop this morning it was business as usual, but just minutes after the owner left the building..."One of my really good customers called and said aunt Marge I just called 911 your flower shop is on fire," said owner Margie Krussel.

Flames and smoke filled the air leaving the shop in ashes. "I was numb I'm still in shock it was just devastating," said Alfies Attic Manager Judy Eaton.

But the fire didn't stop burning there. It became more intense and was starting to spread to the business next door.  "We saw the power line next door we saw that burning up and worried about losing power which is what happened," said Side Door Saloon owner Frank Gotts.

That's when crews rushed to the scene. "Even in route you could see columns of smoke," said Resort/Bear Creek Deputy Fire Chief Bert Notestine.

But by the time crews got there they say it was already too late to save anything inside. "There was a lot of damage done and it was basically a total loss because of the tremendous involvement before we arrived," said Notestine.

But before the flames could spread even further the fire was out. Crews say it took a little over an hour to get the flames out  they were still working to put out smoke piles.

Crews say when the fire's completely out they'll start the investigation, but until then the owners are concerned about how they'll keep their business going. The owner says after running this business here for over a decade some things just can't be replaced.

"We're lost, just lost a feeling of emptiness," said Eaton. Now she says they'll just have to start over with what's left.

No one was inside at the time the fire ignited and no one was injured.  Officials say they'll be on scene for the next couple of days to try and find out exactly what caused the fire.