2 fires in span of 24 hours at Mission Thrift determined to be accidental

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Flames ripped through a pile of donations at The Mission Thrift Store in North Fresno Thursday morning. Then fire erupted again early Friday morning.

Hopes of giving those items a second life, now turned to ash.

Security cameras captured employees fighting the flames Thursday.

People who had been inside shopping at the time described their disbelief.

"As soon as we were paying, they're like 'we have to evacuate'," said Kaytln Hernandez, shopper. "We go outside and the fire had risen you could see the fire from inside the window."

Regulars showed up Friday to support the business they know and love after hearing about the fire.

"I love to thrift and I love thrifting here especially because I know all it kind of stays locally and it goes to a good cause," said Amber Linares, shopper. "I thought buying some things would be a good way to support them in their recovery efforts."

Fresno Fire said the initial flames at the store on Blackstone and Sierra appear to be a bizarre accident, likely caused by items in the donation pile, like a mirror.

Security cameras didn't capture anything out of the ordinary on Thursday, and a security guard quickly spotted the second fire ignite Friday morning.

A manager said it's a comfort that the fire wasn't intentional, but it will still hit The Mission hard.

"Obviously, losing donated goods is impactful to us because this is the product we turn around and sell," said Sherri White, Mission Thrift Chief Business Officer. "The revenue that we generate here goes back to supporting the work that we do in the community, both food and shelter."

Donations have long piled under the hot sun. Management said there isn't too much concern about another accidental fire because they're in the process of moving donations indoors.

"We have just acquired a warehouse so we were already in the process of working to move things over to the warehouse and store things over there," said White.

After battling flames on Thursday, it was the hot sun that employees faced on Friday as they cleaned up ash and rubble.

If you would like to support Mission Thrift, they say to come shop as they have some sales due to the fires.

However, for the next couple of days, they cannot take any large donations like furniture.

If you have smaller donations, you can take those to the location on First Street.

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