Fire Breaks Out At Old Dollar Tree Store In Santa Rosa

SANTA ROSA, CA — A fire broke out late Sunday night in a building that formerly housed a Dollar Store in southwest Santa Rosa but no one was injured, the Santa Rosa Fire Department said.

A report came in at 11:11 p.m. Sunday about a possible fire at the building at 777 Sebastopol Road. Firefighters were on scene in under 5 minutes and found a fire burning in the facade on the front of the old Dollar Tree store, directly over the front entrance, SRFD Battalion Chief Matthew Gloeckner said.

"Fire crews quickly attacked the fire from the exterior while other fire crews forced entry into the locked building," Gloeckner said.

Once inside the store, which currently houses a local clothing and retail business, firefighters found light smoke but the fire was confined to the facade and had not extended inside. The business was closed at the time and crews searched and made sure no one was inside.

A ladder truck crew went onto the roof of the building and used chainsaws to open the back of the facade to completely extinguish the flames.

The fire was brought under control in 30 minutes but crews remained on scene for two hours, dousing hot spots and cutting open the facade.

The fire remained under investigation but appeared to be electrical in nature, Gloeckner said.

There was an estimated $50,000 damage to the building, including minor water damage to the interior of the business.

"The quick response and quick actions of fire crews contributed to saving nearly the entirety of the business’ contents and prevented the fire from spreading to the attic of the building which would have led to significant damage to the building," Gloeckner said.