[Press Release] : Fire in Home Depot causes evacuation

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact: Battalion Chief Gary L. Warren Jr. - (573) 499-7035

Fire in Home Depot causes evacuation

COLUMBIA, MO (April 11, 2009) - Units of the Columbia Fire Department
responded to an initial dispatch of a hazardous materials incident at
3215 Clark Lane (Home Depot). During response, fire units were advised
that there was a fire in an aisle that contained cleaning products (thus
the reason for the hazardous materials dispatch).

The first arriving company (Quint 5) reported seeing smoke from the
roof and heavy smoke inside. It was later determined that the smoke from
the roof was from the store’s HVAC system. Fire crews quickly entered
the building and finished extinguishing a small amount of fire, as well
as starting overhaul (checking for spot fires and removing or moving
smoldering materials).

Several employees recounted using at least 4-6 extinguishers in an
attempt to put out the blaze, but each time the fire was knocked down it
would grow. Eventually an employee tried to extinguish the fire with a
commercial 1 ¼” fire hose located in the store. He was able to almost
put out the fire before he was forced to evacuate because of smoke and
extinguishing agent from earlier discharges. Firefighters would later
use that same hose to finally extinguish the fire.

Investigators on the scene determined that the fire was electrical in
nature. A light fixture between two shelves shorted out and caused
materials on one of the shelves to ignite. The shelf that caught fire
contained several household cleaning products and laminate flooring.
Initial damage estimates to the structure and it’s contents is listed
at $10, 000. There were no injuries during this incident and the
detection system did sound, however the suppression system (sprinklers)
did not activate. 

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