Grant
Administrator
Belen grocery store damaged in kitchen fire
Clara Garcia News-Bulletin Staff Writer; cgarcia@news-bulletin.com
Belen Employees and customers were evacuated from Lowe's grocery store in Belen Thursday morning when a fire broke out in the deli's kitchen.
Belen Fire Chief Wayne Gallegos said an alarm call came in at 10:35 a.m. from the store and fire crews were on scene within three minutes.
"We're thinking that it was possibly caused by a grease fire in the kitchen behind the deli," Gallegos said. "They have a deep fryer and cooking equipment and, when we got there, the employees were doing the best they could with fire extinguishers."
Gallegos explained that while the fire was too hot for employees to handle, they kept the flames from spreading until firefighters arrived on scene.
"When we got there, there was a lot of smoke rolling in the store," the fire chief said. "Because of all the smoke, the police department and store management evacuated the customers and employees. The fire was out within 10 minutes."
Firefighters also worked their way into the store's attic looking for hot spots — something that Gallegos said is typical in these types of fires. Fire crews from Los Chavez and Rio Grande Estates also lent a hand as well as their fans to ventilate all the smoke from the building.
According to Gallegos, the store's kitchen sustained substantial damage. Other than one employee treated on the scene for a minor case of smoke inhalation, no on else was injured.
Messages left seeking comment from Lowe's district headquarters were not returned by press time Friday.
Clara Garcia News-Bulletin Staff Writer; cgarcia@news-bulletin.com
Belen Employees and customers were evacuated from Lowe's grocery store in Belen Thursday morning when a fire broke out in the deli's kitchen.
Belen Fire Chief Wayne Gallegos said an alarm call came in at 10:35 a.m. from the store and fire crews were on scene within three minutes.
"We're thinking that it was possibly caused by a grease fire in the kitchen behind the deli," Gallegos said. "They have a deep fryer and cooking equipment and, when we got there, the employees were doing the best they could with fire extinguishers."
Gallegos explained that while the fire was too hot for employees to handle, they kept the flames from spreading until firefighters arrived on scene.
"When we got there, there was a lot of smoke rolling in the store," the fire chief said. "Because of all the smoke, the police department and store management evacuated the customers and employees. The fire was out within 10 minutes."
Firefighters also worked their way into the store's attic looking for hot spots — something that Gallegos said is typical in these types of fires. Fire crews from Los Chavez and Rio Grande Estates also lent a hand as well as their fans to ventilate all the smoke from the building.
According to Gallegos, the store's kitchen sustained substantial damage. Other than one employee treated on the scene for a minor case of smoke inhalation, no on else was injured.
Messages left seeking comment from Lowe's district headquarters were not returned by press time Friday.