Several businesses have been destroyed after a massive fire tore through a Port Coquitlam strip mall Sunday night.

The blaze began shortly after 4 a.m. in the area of McAllister Avenue near Shaughnessy Street. Firefighters say the flames first tore through Martha's Bakery and Cafe, fanned by a gas line inside.

“It had spread right into the laminated beam supporting the whole block,” said Chief Nick Delmonico, Port Coquitlam fire department. “As you can see we’re down a couple of businesses now.”

Some witnesses told CTV News the fire was one of the worst they’d seen.

“It just keeps getting worse and worse,” said neighbour Nadine Froese. “I’ve never seen a fire that’s so hard to put out before.”

Martha's Bakery and Cafe, a health clinic, sushi restaurant, Curves, and a Heart and Stroke Foundation office were all destroyed before crews could knock down the blaze. Some businesses in the building next door experienced flooding.

“Having to go through the roof, chase [the fire] through the roof is extremely difficult,” said Delmonico. “It goes from store to store and is constantly moving, and you have to be in the structure and around it.”

This is the second major fire in Port Coquitlam in the last year. Last July fire tore through another strip mall, leaving several businesses in ruins.

Fire crews spent much of Monday mopping up and putting out hot spots, as business owners begin surveying the damage.

“We have a lot of work to do to rebuild, and bring back the downtown we had before these fires,” said Laura Dupont, Port Coquitlam city councillor. 

The fire was believed to have started in the bakery's kitchen, and is not considered suspicious at this time. 

With files from CTV Vancouver’s Sheila Scott