At 4:38 p.m., the city fire department was notified of a fire that broke out in a rack of clothes inside the men’s section of the store at 1116 First St., according to Capt. Erik Mortimore. Napa Fire units began arriving at Kohl’s within two minutes, and about 30 customers, alerted by smoke alarms, evacuated the building along with employees, he said.
Firefighters entering the store found a light haze of smoke inside, and learned that two sprinkler heads had activated above the clothing rack, which was extinguished within 10 minutes, according to Mortimore. Although fire hose lines were pulled into the building, no outside water was used on the fire, he said.
Fire crews entered to shut off the sprinklers and prevent further flooding, and the last remaining crews left the scene at 7:26 p.m., according to Mortimore.
“We got off pretty easy given what it could have been,” he said Wednesday night.
No injuries were reported to customers, staff or firefighters.
Napa Police officers went to the scene along with Napa Fire units, said Mortimore. The cause of the fire remained under investigation Wednesday night.
Kohl’s was expected to remain closed Thursday as work continues to clear water out of the building, according to Mortimore.
