2 people injured after soon-to-be opened business catches fire in Merced
MERCED, Calif, (KFSN) -- A tiny shopping center in Merced shut down on Thursday after a fire ripped through one of the units.
Boarded-up windows below a coming soon sign serve as a hint that the opening for the business will likely be delayed.
"We kept it mostly out of the structure of the building, so the framing members and stuff, but the whole interior is destroyed. I mean, we had to pull all the ceiling out and all the sheet rock so just to make sure that there was no hidden fire," said Merced City Fire Chief Shawn Luce.
Crews were initially called for a suspected fire, but within three minutes of the call, Merced City Fire Battalion Chief Shawn Luce says the call was upgraded, with every unit in the city responding.
Luce says a construction crew was doing late-night work when the fire sparked.
He suspects that chemicals used to strip the floor may have fueled the flames, as well as a door left open when the group of four escaped the building.
"Once you open a door, what that does is it introduces a lot of oxygen into a fire, and we saw a quick growth of the fire at that point when we made access to the front door because the back door was already open," said Luce.
Luce says it is a good reminder to leave doors closed or to shut them after exiting, to prevent flames from growing.
"If you're in your regular house and you sleep with your doors closed, it gives you basically a defensible space. If there's a fire, it compartmentalizes your room," said Luce.
"We've had units where we've had like, a garage fire and somebody opens the main garage door, and that usually makes for a worse deal."
The fire didn't reach the businesses next door, but smoke did, leaving a stench in the laundromat, which also sustained minimal damage from the firefight.
Two doors down, 7-Eleven briefly opened for the morning but quickly locked back up by 11 a.m., despite power being restored.
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