Whole Foods Market in Coddingtown Mall closed after fire forces evacuations

The Whole Foods Market store at Coddingtown Mall in Santa Rosa was closed for the day Thursday after an air conditioning unit on the roof caught fire and forced customers and staff to evacuate.

Responding fire crews contained the flames within 15 minutes, according to Santa Rosa Fire Marshal Paul Lowenthal, who said the blaze was reported shortly before 12:30 p.m.

Fire officials were not aware of any injuries. Lowenthal said the business did sustain some water damage.

Around 40 customers and employees were inside Whole Foods when the fire was reported, Lowenthal said.

Dozens of shoppers who had evacuated the store during the noontime fire gathered outside as firefighters handled the blaze. Nearby stores, including Starbucks, also appeared to have been evacuated.

“The entire team helped evacuate,” said a Whole Foods employee who declined to give her name, on instruction from superiors.

All fire activity focused on the northwest corner of the mall and businesses in other parts of Coddingtown appeared to be operating as normal.

It wasn’t immediately clear how the fire began. Emergency scanner traffic indicated two heating and air conditioning workers were on the roof around the time the fire was reported.

Robert Bohen, asset protection specialist with Whole Foods, said only that everyone in the store had been evacuated and all were safe. He would not comment on the cause or damage done by the fire, referring questions to Whole Foods corporate headquarters.