Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009

Home Depot in Ceres emptied as pool chemicals burn

CERES -- The Home Depot on Hatch Road was evacuated Friday morning after a fire broke out inside the store and damaged some pool chemical containers that released toxic fumes into the air, fire officials said.

Ceres Fire Battalion Chief Bryan Hunt said the fire was reported shortly before 10 a.m. at the Home Depot at 1415 E. Hatch Road. The fire started in the store's Garden Center, he said, and affected the area where the pool chemicals are kept.

"It really didn't spread too far because of the (store's) sprinkler system," Hunt said.

He said the flames damaged the chemical containers, which included chlorine and other pool cleaning supplies. Firefighters had the fire under control in about 16 minutes, Hunt said.

Customers and employees were evacuated, and one employee who wasn't feeling well was taken to a hospital as a precautionary measure, Hunt said.

The Stanislaus County Hazardous Materials Response Team was called to the store to determine any possible dangers from the burned chemicals.

By 2 p.m., the hazmat team had declared the building safe and the store had reopened, Hunt said. The Garden Center was closed to customers while the area was cleaned.

Hunt estimated the fire caused from $10,000 to $20,000 in damage to the store's contents, but the building's structure was not harmed.

Investigators had not determined the cause of the fire Friday night.

"It's a little on the suspicious nature," Hunt said. "But it's a long way between a fire that's appears suspicious and a fire that was intentionally set."

Bee staff writer Rosalio Ahumada can be reached at rahumada@modbee.com or 578-2394.