VALDOSTA — A furniture store in Valdosta burned early Friday morning.

Fire tape was stretched across the entrance to Union Furniture East, at 3268 Inner Perimeter Road, Suite H, next to Walmart, Friday afternoon and the front door was replaced with a temporary sheet of plywood.

At 3:04 a.m., the Valdosta Fire Department responded to the report of a structure fire, a city statement said. Firefighters found heavy smoke coming from the building.

Crews stopped the blaze before it could spread to other stores in the shopping strip, the statement said.

Police and South Georgia Medical Center’s EMS helped with on-scene operations; 15 firefighters responded. No injuries were reported, the city said.

Union Furniture East was relatively new, having only opened in July.

The cause of fire is under investigation.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.