GENOA - An early morning fire Monday destroyed three businesses in this Ottawa County village's historic downtown district.

The blaze was reported at 1:48 a.m. at Ray and Jet's Cafe, 608 Main St., and when crews arrived, flames and smoke were billowing from the rear of the tavern, said Chief Bruce Moritz, of the Allen Clay Joint Fire District.

Flames spread through the attic to two businesses that share a roof with the bar - a Merle Norman cosmetics store and Styletique, a hair salon.

All three were destroyed, but a damage estimate was not available, the chief said.

A firewall at the Hour Glass Inn stopped the blaze from spreading and damaging more buildings along Main Street. The inn had smoke damage, the chief said.

The State Fire Marshal's Office is investigating what caused the fire.

Seven fire departments were called to assist Allen Clay with the blaze, which the chief said was fueled in part by gusty winds. According to the National Weather Service in Cleveland, winds were gusting up to 43 mph and temperatures were about 27 degrees in the area.

The fire was under control by about 5 a.m. but crews remained on the scene to extinguish hot spots, Chief Moritz said.

Genoa is about 15 miles southeast of Toledo.

Read more in later editions of The Blade and toledoblade.com.

First Published December 24, 2007, 6:40 p.m.