Shoe Repair Shop Fire Damages Two Buildings

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By Bay City News Service

A fire in a North Fair Oaks shoe repair shop Thursday afternoon damaged two buildings and displaced two residents, according to Menlo Park Fire Protection District Chief Harold Schapelhouman.

The fire at 3205 Middlefield Road was first reported at 2:18 p.m. after the owner of the shoe repair shop saw smoke coming from the back of the store and found a fire already in progress there, Schapelhouman said.

Firefighters called a second alarm requesting additional engines shortly after they arrived on the scene at 2:25 p.m.

The occupants of the shoe repair shop, a neighboring religious bookstore and a residential unit on the second floor of the building were able to escape without injury.

However the fire caused extensive damage inside the shoe repair shop, where the ceiling and a wall collapsed at the back of the store where the fire started. The bookstore had some smoke damage, and the upstairs residential unit sustained smoke damage and fire damage to the floor and walls, Schapelhouman said.

A neighboring building also sustained some smoke and heat damage in the fire.

Schapelhouman estimated structural damage at around $100,000 and the damage to contents at around $50,000. The residents of the apartment were displaced and were being assisted today by the American Red Cross.

Schapelhouman said fire crews remained on watch through the night to make sure the fire did not reignite.