Category Archives: Shopping Mall

Retail, Shopping Mall

Clovis, CA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at mall; No injuries reported

The Sierra Vista Mall is closed for the rest of the day following a fire near Game Stop.

Clovis Fire Department says the fire started around 2:15 p.m.

When crews arrived, they found smoke in the Game Stop area with flames coming from the attic above the restroom.

Officials say the sprinkler system did a good job of keeping the fire from spreading.

Both the City of Fresno and Fresno County Fire Department assisted Clovis with the fire.

No injuries have been reported.

The fire is still under investigation.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Virginia, MN – Sprinkler system contained fire at mall; No injuries reported

Fire broke out at the Uptown Mall in Virginia Thursday afternoon.

Pictures from the Northland Fire Wire showed dark, black smoke coming from the building.

The Fire Wire reported that the flames were contained to a storage area thanks to the mall’s sprinkler system.

Multiple area fire departments responded.

Nobody was injured.

The cause is being investigated by the Virginia Fire Marshal’s Office.

Uptown Mall was formerly known as the Thunderbird Mall.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Aurora, IL – Sprinkler system controls fire near building’s loading dock; No injuries reported

A fire in a strip mall store near Fox Valley Mall in Aurora last Wednesday was contained before it could spread to other buildings, officials said.

At around 10 p.m., the Aurora Fire Department responded to the fire after it was called in by an employee of the store, which is located in the 4300 block of Fox Valley Center Drive, according to a news release from the fire department.

When firefighters arrived, they found the fire in the back of the building near a loading dock, but it was being controlled by the building’s sprinkler system and had not spread to nearby stores, the release said. The remaining fire was then put out, officials said.

All employees had evacuated the building before firefighters arrived, and no one was hurt in the fire, according to the release.

Four engine companies, two truck companies, two medic units and three chief officers responded to the fire, the release said.

According to officials, the fire remains under investigation by the Aurora Fire Department’s Fire Investigation Team.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Indianapolis, IN – Sprinkler system contains fire at shopping center; No injuries reported

Investigators are looking into the cause of a fire early Tuesday morning at a shopping center on Indianapolis’ north side. 

Shortly after 4 a.m. Jan. 9, firefighters responded to the Glendale Town Center, near North Keystone Avenue and East 62nd Street, for a fire alarm.

Crews found smoke and eventually discovered a small fire in a utility room inside a hallway that connects the Glendale branch of the Indianapolis Public Library and a Staples store.

The building’s sprinkler system contained the fire to the room, and the fire was brought under control around 5:15 a.m., IFD Battalion Chief Rita Reith told 13News.

Significant smoke was found inside the Staples store and the library.

“It is unclear what time Target, Staples or the Library will open for the day,” Reith said in a statement. “None of the businesses sustained damage other than some water damage.”

No injuries were reported.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Buford, GA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at mall; No injuries reported

Firefighters are investigating an incident that sparked at the Mall of Georgia Tuesday morning.

Crews were called to Buford Drive in Buford at 5:38 a.m. A bystander called 911 and reported a fire at the Mall of Georgia food court, authorities said.

When firefighters arrived, they found the fire developing in a first-floor storage room behind of the restaurants in the mall food court, investigators said.

The fire triggered the sprinkler system. Despite the low visibility, crews were able to use its hose to extinguish the flames. Mall workers and security were evacuated during the fire.

The building’s ventilation system was used to remove residual smoke from the and fire units brought in fans to ventilate parts of the building.

The storage room sustained heavy fire damage; there were no injuries.

Crews have determined the fire started from an electrical issue with a light fixture.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Omaha, NE – Sprinkler system activated for fire at strip mall; No injuries reported

The Omaha Fire Department is investigating a fire at a strip mall Sunday morning.

According to the Omaha Fire Department, at 8:44 a.m. Sunday, crews were called to a one-story strip mall at 10841 Q Street. Dispatch received multiple calls reporting a large amount of black smoke coming from the building.

When crews arrived they entered and reported poor visibility inside. They searched the structure and found a fire that was controlled by an automatic sprinkler system. The fire was extinguished quickly by firefighters.

The Omaha Fire Department says no injuries were reported by fire personnel at the time.

Damage was estimated at $15,000 to the structure and another $50,000 to its contents.

Investigators are looking into what caused the fire.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Honolulu, HI – Sprinkler system activated for electrical fire at shopping center; No injuries reported

Honolulu firefighters responded to a fire at Ala Moana Shopping Center on Tuesday morning after a security guard noticed smoke coming from a loading dock area.

Officials said the two-alarm fire started around 8:10 a.m. in a basement storage room belonging to the Longs Drugs at the mall.

HFD said an electrical panel in the room had shorted and sparked a fire which spread to flammable items nearby.

Firefighters said the storage room, located directly below the store was full of boxes and merchandise, which hindered fire suppression. HFD said fortunately, the sprinkler system was activated and confined flames to an area about 20 feet by 20 feet.

However, officials said the fire was not fully extinguished and that crews had to sift through the room, despite poor visibility and little ventilation, to ensure nothing was smoldering.

HFD said the blaze was extinguished just before 9:30 a.m.

Officials said no injuries were reported.

The estimated cost of damages is unknown at this time and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Manchester, NH – Sprinkler system activated for early morning fire at mall

An early-morning fire alarm activation at the Mall of New Hampshire Sunday was caused by an electrical fire originating with a massage chair, according to fire officials.

At 1:24 a.m. an alarm was triggered at the Mall, 1500 South Willow St. followed by a report of smoke near the food court as fire companies were en route.

Upon arrival Engine 3 entered the mall to find smoke generated from a massage chair that caught fire. The sprinkler system had activated and contained the fire to the area of origin, and remaining fire in the area was extinguished by the Engine 3 crew. 

There was water damage in the immediate area along with heavy smoke damage throughout the mall. Ventilation of the building was a challenge due to the size of the affected area, fire officials said.

As of 11 a.m. the mall was open for shopping, according to personnel in the mall’s security office.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Effingham, IL – Sprinkler system activated for fire at nail salon in mall

Fire broke out at Malibu Nails inside the Village Square Mall just before 5:30 Tuesday evening.

Assistant Fire Chief Matt Kulesza told us the fire started from a mini-fridge inside the store. The store had just closed for the evening, and the owner had gone home. People walking in the mall spotted the fire and called 911.

The sprinkler system in the store did activate, but the fire was limited by a water line located in a wall just behind the refrigerator. The line melted from the heat and burst, giving the sprinkler an assist. When firefighters arrived, they broke a window to gain access and used a pump can to put the fire out.

Kulesza said it could have been much worse, had the fire burned through the wall into the store to the south, which is packed full of boxes and other items that would have fueled it.

Angus, owner of Malibu Nails, told us he’s been in the mall since 1995 and does intend to repair his space and reopen. For the time being, Malibu Nails will be using a portion of the store across the hall from his, while mall management prepares a temporary space for them in the coming days.

The mall was closed for the rest of the evening Tuesday. RMC Cinemas remained open. Mall manager Steve Linton and other mall employees were cleaning up glass from the window the fire department had to break to gain access to the store, and putting fans in place to air out the mall. He told us the mall will be open as normal Wednesday morning, and that he’s thankful the damage was limited.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Easton, PA – Fire at mall extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A “suspicious” fire on Sunday afternoon in a lavatory behind a store near an entrance to the Palmer Park Mall was quickly put out by sprinklers but left water damage in three stores, a Palmer Township fire official reports.

The Palmer Township Municipal Fire Department responded at 4:50 p.m. to an alarm at the mall but as firefighters were on their way, people inside the mall called 911 to report an explosion and smoke inside the main entrance, Deputy Chief Jim Alercia said in a news release.

The mall was being evacuated as firefighters arrived. Shoppers and workers indicated the fire was in the IFIX and More store, which sells cell phone accessories and does minor repairs, Alercia said. The fire was contained to a lavatory in a rear stock room, Alercia said. It was put out by the mall’s sprinkler system, he added.

There was “moderate” water damage to the Claire’s and Verizon Wireless stores as well as fire damage to the lavatory and water damage to the stock room and sales floor at IFIX and More, Alercia said.

Fire personnel remained on scene to help mall staff ventilate the smoke from the stores and get the alarm system active again so the mall could open for its regular 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. hours on Monday, Alercia said.

Township fire investigators are probing what they have labeled a “suspicious fire”, Alercia said. Investigators were removing evidence in search of the cause and manner of the fire, Alercia said.

A drop ceiling, which was soaked by the sprinkler system, collapsed, making the sound that people thought was an explosion, Alercia said.

No one was hurt and Bethlehem Township firefighters and Suburban EMS assisted at the scene, Alercia said.