Santa Rosa Lucky supermarket damaged when refrigeration unit catches fire

Groceries and other merchandise inside the Lucky supermarket on Mendocino Avenue, next to Home Depot, were damaged by smoke and water Wednesday evening when a stand-alone refrigeration unit caught fire, filled the store with smoke and set off the fire-suppression sprinklers.

Santa Rosa Fire Battalion Chief Matt Dahl said the store was empty at the time and a passerby noticed fire and smoke inside the store. The fire was first reported at 5:45 p.m., he said.

“The fire filled the entire store with smoke,” Dahl said, adding that multiple sprinkler heads were triggered by the smoke and a significant amount of “content” in the store was damaged.

The refrigeration unit was about 20 feet long and was similar to those that hold cheese and other dairy products.

Firefighters had the fire under control within about an hour and half after arriving at the scene..