Fire damages Santa Rosa garden store

The owners of a Santa Rosa garden shop that suffered about $100,000 in damage from a fire Thursday morning could face fines or other punishment after fire officials discovered an illegal number of propane and butane canisters in the business, according to Santa Rosa Assistant Fire Marshal Paul Lowenthal.

The fire, reported about 8:17 a.m. at the Garden Spout on Petaluma Hill Road, just south of where it crosses Santa Rosa Avenue, closed Petaluma Hill Road for about an hour and sent a plume of smoke over the commercial strip.

Officials with the fire department, which regulates which businesses can store and use hazardous materials in Santa Rosa, found the shop did not have permission to carry either substance in the quantities found in the store, Lowenthal said.

He declined to answer questions about how many cylinders were located in the store, why they were there or whether the flammable substances were suspected of causing the blaze. The cause of the fire was still under investigation as of Thursday afternoon, he said.

“Regardless of the cause, the discovery of those (cylinders) has prompted us to consider formal enforcement,” Lowenthal said.

Garden Spout’s owner did not respond to phone calls seeking comment by Thursday evening.

The blaze, reported by a passing Sonoma County Sheriff’s deputy who saw smoke and flames coming from the building, resulted in six engines and two ladder trucks being dispatched to the store, which advertises itself as a hydroponics business.

Firefighters cut open a metal gate blocking off part of the property, and then sawed through roll-up metal doors that prevented them from getting inside the building.

They carved out an entryway near an area where the building’s metal wall was badly discolored by flames. Several large cylinders were seen from the entry way after the fire was put out.

“They were able to tell where the fire was in the building based on the burns,” Lowenthal said.

The blaze burned an interior wall and destroyed items in the immediate area of the fire, such as fertilizer, Lowenthal said. The flames reached the building’s roof, leaving the ceiling with significant damage.

Workers at the Carquest Auto Parts store next to the garden shop took videos and watched as firefighters battled the blaze.

The employees were alerted to the fire only minutes before firefighters arrived, first from a call from a nearby business owner who asked if they were aware of the nearby blaze.

“Then some gal opened the door and yelled that the neighboring building was on fire,” said John Johnson, an employee at the auto parts store.

Employees quickly relocated company cars and personal vehicles parked in a lot that backed up to the garden store, Johnson said.

“The smell was just awful, like burning plastic,” said Christina Askew, Johnson’s coworker.

Firefighters doused the fire with water once they got inside, extinguishing the blaze in about 30 minutes. The fire was contained to the garden shop, which was closed with no one inside when the fire began.

An initial investigation pinpointed the start of the fire to a storage area in the building, Lowenthal said.

Staff Writer Yousef Baig contributed to this report. You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com.