Building fire still under investigation

AMHERST- The cause of the two-alarm fire that gutted a commercial building on Route 101A Monday is still under investigation, said Chris Wyman of the state fire marshal’s office.

Investigators believe the fire originated in the basement, but hadn’t eliminated other possibilities when investigators left the scene around 5 p.m. Tuesday.

“We’ve still got some things we have to rule out,” Wyman said.

The investigation is scheduled to resume at 8 a.m. today and should be complete by noon, Wyman said.

The building is the smaller of two that form the Amherst Plaza at 131 Route 101A. The structure housed Nails For You and Pacific Restaurant. The larger building, separated from the damaged structure by a parking lot, did not catch fire.

The blaze broke out just before 5 a.m. Monday morning and caused around $200,000 of damage.

The Mayo Group, a real estate and development company based in Boston, owns the two-unit building. Nails For You is leased to Hai Tran of Nashua, and Pacific Restaurant is leased to Yim and Kai Lam of Dracut, Mass., Wyman said.