No one was hurt, but the fire resulted in evacuation of the store, which was closed for the rest of the evening.
At 4:48 p.m. Tuesday, LFRA was dispatched to a fire sprinkler water flow alarm at Scheels and, when crews arrived two minutes later, they saw smoke showing from the loading dock area, according to a post on the LFRA Facebook page.
The incident was upgraded to a commercial fire and additional LFRA units were called along with Berthoud Fire Protection, Front Range Fire Rescue, Thompson Valley EMS, Poudre Fire Authority and Johnstown Police Department crews.
Crews from Engine 50, which work out of Station 10 in Johnstown nearby, found a working fire in the cardboard compactor with a fire sprinkler in the compactor loading room “holding the fire from extending into the interior of the structure,” according to the post.
Once the fire was under control, crews used a wildland fire engine to pull the compactor away from the building
Crews also used electric ventilation fans to clear the smoke from the interior of the store, though the majority of the smoke was contained to the interior areas near the loading dock, the post said. Scheels staff assisted the incident commander with technical knowledge of the building’s ventilation system to help with this process.
The post added the store closed for the rest of the evening.
Battalion Chief Kevin Hessler said no injuries were reported in the incident. He added that the cause of the fire is unknown.
He also added that the Scheels team did a great job getting evacuating everyone once the fire alarm sounded.
