Malfunction Sparks Fire At Lucky Supermarket In Santa Rosa

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — A mechanical or electrical malfunction in an open-top refrigeration display unit is suspected of causing a two-alarm fire at the Lucky Supermarkets store in Santa Rosa on Wednesday evening, a Santa Rosa fire investigator said. The store at 150 Bicentennial Way was closed since the Oct. 8 Tubbs Fire and the manager had left just left the store before the fire was reported at 5:45 p.m., Fire Inspector Ian Hardage said.

There was a recent delivery of merchandise but the supermarket was not fully stocked. The fire destroyed the refrigeration unit and its contents in the deli section, and smoke damage to food items throughout the
supermarket is estimated at more than $600,000, Hardage said.

Fire sprinklers were activated and heavy smoke in the building hampered firefighters who used thermal imaging cameras to locate and attack the origin of the fire, which was controlled in about 30 minutes, according to Santa Rosa Fire Department Battalion Chief Matt Dahl.

Forty-four firefighters from the Santa Rosa and Rincon Valley fire departments responded to the blaze, as did crews from PG&E and Sonoma County Life Support/AMR ambulance, Dahl said.

Firefighters used forced ventilation to remove the smoke while they searched for any occupants, Dahl said.

Nannette Miranda, a spokeswoman for Lucky's parent company The Save Mart Companies, said the Lucky Supermarket is expected to re-open as scheduled at 7 a.m. Friday.

The Save Mart Companies operates Lucky and other supermarkets in Northern and Central California.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.

Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone