A Phoenix Safeway fire started in the back room of the grocery store Wednesday but no one was hurt. An employee called 911 to report it around 6 p.m.
There were about 30 customers in the store at the time of the fire, but employees were able to get everyone out safely, ABC 15 reported.
Officials believe a partial roof collapse may have damaged an electrical box and caused the fire, ABC reported. Employee Spencer McClure took video of large puddles inside the store before the blaze erupted.
Firefighters fought the blaze aggressively and kept it from spreading to other nearby stores and apartments, although the store itself is a total loss. The roof collapsed while the blaze was being fought, and smoke from the fire could be seen from miles away.
Firefighters stayed on the scene through the night to take care of any hotspots, ABC reported.
A microburst had occurred in the area before the fire, dropping large amounts of rain on the roof in a short period of time, KTAR reported.
Safeway said in a statement that it planned to have employees work in other area stores, and that customers could fill prescriptions at Safeway or Albertsons locations nearby, ABC reported.
“We are grateful beyond measure that there are no reported injuries or casualties,” the statement said. The store had been open at the location for 37 years.
Local resident Mike Rancik is one of many who will need to find another way to get groceries.
“I’m a disabled person . . . . Getting groceries is difficult,” he told KTAR. He said he will now have to take two different buses to get groceries.
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