Fire destroys longtime Ukiah business

<p>Fire destroyed a longtime Ukiah business Sunday and investigators Monday continued to look into what started the two-alarm blaze.</p><p>A possible electrical problem in the crawl space may have sparked the fire, burning Diamond Jim’s Sporting Goods & Liquor, said Ukiah Fire Capt. John Corippo.</p><p>Corippo said the fire caused about $400,000 in damage to contents and $300,000 to the building. While the building didn’t burn to the ground there was enough structural damage that fire officials considered it destroyed.</p><p>At about 11:30 a.m. Sunday people in the store began smelling smoke.</p><p>Owner Raminderpal Singh Chhina of Ukiah checked the store’s deli for signs of burning food, as there was no smoke inside the store, Corippo said. Customers also began mentioning a smell of smoke.</p><p>A store worker who’d gone across the street for coffee, however, saw heavy smoke coming from the building and alerted people inside, Corippo said.</p><p>Ukiah Valley firefighters were nearby on another call so got to the scene first. Ukiah city firefighters also were aided by Redwood Valley, Hopland and Calfire firefighters.</p><p>The fire was a difficult to fight because of the structure of the 50- to 60-year-old building, Corippo said.</p><p>Firefighters were at the North State Street business for about four hours Sunday.</p><p>“It was a stubborn fire due to very good building construction,” he said. “It took time to dig in and tear apart."</p>