Fire partially destroys Santa Rosa design studio

Fire Thursday destroyed the production area of a textile design studio and damaged an adjacent business on Coffey Lane in Santa Rosa, fire officials said.

Investigators were looking into whether the blaze originated with a piece of drying equipment in the production area of Celebration Designs, a silkscreen and embroidery business, Battalion Chief Mark Basque said. Smoke damaged an office area and caused minor damage to a neighboring business, California Steam Clean.

Investigators estimate the damage to the building, merchandise and equipment at $300,000.

Just before 8:30 p.m. Thursday, the owner of a classic car shop across the street saw dark smoke and called 911, Basque said.

Heavy fire and smoke were visible from the single-story, three unit warehouse when firefighters arrived, prompting them to call for additional fire resources, Basque said.

Crews launched an interior attack and stopped the fire from spreading to other businesses. They had the fire under control within 25 minutes and remained at the scene for nearly three hours, Basque said.

Basque said the fire’s cause appeared accidental and an investigator had pinpointed the origin to the drying equipment. They were still analyzing how it started, he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.