Fire officials are investigating a blaze that broke out at our local outlet mall Tuesday.
The incident happened shortly after 9 p.m.
According to fire officials, heavy smoke was seen inside a store at the Outlet Shoppes at Laredo.
At the time, smoke was coming through some of the clothing items at the store when the sprinkler system went off.
Fire officials say no injuries were reported and there were no damages to other stores.
The scene was along the 5800 block of Stockton Boulevard.
According to the Sacramento Fire Department, the fire was first reported a little after 7 a.m. A second-alarm was called.
Firefighters extinguished the flames within the hour. They credit the building’s sprinkler system with helping contain the flames to one unit.
Traffic in the area was blocked due to the fire response.
Exactly what caused the fire is still under investigation.
The fire started just after 11 a.m. on Monday, December 16. The mall was evacuated as the halls filled with smoke.
According to Fire Marshal Jerry Spiegel, the fire started inside the Fig Tree bookstore. He said incense had been left burning with the ashes falling into a cardboard box; that’s what ultimately caused the fire.
Spiegel said the fire was contained within minutes. Four sprinklers went off and helped put out most of the flames before crews arrived, but smoke continued to filter through the mall hallways.
Damage to the Fig Tree has been estimated at about $50,000, said Spiegel. That combined with the smoke damage to other stores adds up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Spiegel said the biggest challenge for crews was getting the smoke out of the building. TMI came to help activate the mall’s ventilation system to get the smoke out.
There were no injuries.
The inside of the mall was set to remain closed for Monday. The anchor stores, JCPenney, Dillards and Von Maur opened from the outside, according to mall management.
People were evacuated from the building. Chief Dienst says, “Light smoke could be seen in the back of the business. Police officers made entry to locate the fire, evacuate animals and give the fire department a size up.”
When the fire department got there it was determined the fire was located in a bathroom and the sprinkler system had extinguished the fire. The sprinkler system was shut down. Firefighters used squeegees to clean up the water on the floor by pushing it down a drain.
Faribault Police also did on scene investigation and it was decided to call in the State Fire Marshal’s Office because the fire was determined to be suspicious.
Chief Dienst noted the Discover School had a fire late Sunday night where the sprinkler system also did it’s job. That fire was reported 11:17 p.m. Sunday. When the fire department arrived alarms were sounding.
Fire crews located the fire on the 3rd floor and made a quick knock down of the fire with the help from the sprinkler system in the building. The majority of the fire was contained to the 3rd floor ceiling. A small fire started on the wood floor below the ceiling fire from burning materials falling from the ceiling. That fire was extinguished by the sprinkler system.
Cause of the fire was determined to be an electrical short in a wire that was covered with cellulose insulation in the 3rd floor ceiling.
Chief Dienst commented, “The building’s sprinkler system and alarm system operated correctly and alerted the fire department while the fire was still small. Firefighters made entry, located and extinguished the fire quickly. Without those systems this fire had the potential to destroy the building.”
Chief Dienst also commended the employees of PetsMart for, “Doing a good job of evacuating the customers so that no one was in danger.”
The Knoxville fire department was alerted to a fire at approximately 11 a.m. in West town Mall.
Fire department crews discovered a small fire in the rear of three restaurants located in the Food Court.
The fire sprinkler system contained the fire and crews were able to continue extinguishment. No one was injured.
The mall was evacuated as a precaution and anchor stores have begun to reopen to customers.
The fire is under investigation and no cause has been determined. All Mall entrances are blocked to incoming traffic.
According to the Eden Prairie Fire Department, the fire occurred around 7:45 p.m. in a back hallway behind the AMC theater, where it was quickly controlled by the sprinkler system installed inside the mall.
The fire caused light smoke in the mall, but heavy smoke in the back hallway.
Authorities say there were no injuries and no other businesses in the mall were evacuated. The theater is expected to reopen Thursday.
Emergency crews responded to a fire Monday morning at a strip mall in Surfside Beach.
A call came out for a fire at 1610 South Highway 17 Business at 6:39 a.m., according to an online post from Horry County Fire Rescue.
The fire was brought under control with the help of the building’s sprinkler system. The building was also worked for possible hot spots and ventilated during the overhaul process, the post states.
There were no reports of injuries.
The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.
The incident happened just before 5:40 p.m. inside Macy’s, according to Crabtree Valley Mall spokesman Brian Asbill.
Asbill said “a small fire” broke out and caused the sprinkler system to deploy.
Raleigh fire officials said the blaze broke out in the upstairs men’s fitting room.
The sprinklers then extinguished the fire, Asbill said.
Raleigh fire officials said 25% of the building was damaged and that the cause was “incendiary,” although they did not explain further the fire’s cause.
Officials said 35 firefighters responded to the incident.
No one was injured.
Friday evening, crews were cleaning up merchandise damaged by water, Asbill said.
