Date: Fri 23-May-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Grand-Union-fire

Full Text:

with cuts: Small Fire Closes Grand Union For A Few Hours

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

Firefighters extinguished a blaze Monday afternoon at the Grand Union

supermarket on Queen Street, where a malfunctioning electrical floor-buffing

machine in a storage area caused merchandise stacked nearby to ignite.

There were no injuries, said Fire Marshal George Lockwood. The accidental fire

caused no structural damage, he said.

Several dozen people were evacuated from the shopping center where the

supermarket is located. Total damage in the incident amounted to an estimated

$18,000, according to the fire marshal.

The fire was reported at 4:39 pm. Newtown Hook and Ladder, Sandy Hook,

Hawleyville and Botsford firefighters responded, as did the police, the

Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps, and the regional paramedic.

The supermarket had received a load of merchandise that day, and it appears

that a wooden storage pallet had banged into a floor-buffing machine when the

goods were being moved into the building, Mr Lockwood said. It appears that

the impact damaged electrical controls on the buffer, causing it to short out

and ignite adjacent merchandise, he said.

The fire then spread, damaging another floor-buffing machine, he said. The

fire caused the store's sprinkler system to turn itself on, dousing the area.

When the fire was first spotted, store personnel attempted to put it out with

fire extinguishers, but then called in firefighters, Mr Lockwood said.

After firefighters located the blaze amid the stacks of merchandise, they put

it out in about 10 minutes, according to the fire marshal.

Two pallets of merchandise received scorch damage. A total of about 20 pallets

of goods received some type of damage in the incident, he said, adding that

damaged merchandise was discarded.

It's fortunate that the fire didn't occur overnight or there probably would

have been more extensive damage, he said.

After a cleanup, the store reopened for business after 8 pm.

Town Health Director Mark Cooper said that besides food which had to be

discarded due to fire damage, other goods were thrown away for related

reasons, such as water damage, soot and ash damage, and because the

merchandise had been exposed to fire extinguishing chemicals.

Following the fire, one Dumpster was filled with discarded items, and another

was being brought in to hold more discards, he said.

The supermarket cooperated in discarding items that needed to be destroyed, Mr

Cooper said.

Items that were discarded included cereal, bread stuffing, candies, soda,

juice and cleaning products.