The cause of a fire that started in a shoe store at Post Oak Mall early Saturday morning has been determined to be electrical, said Bart Humphreys, public information officer for the College Station Fire Department.
Humphreys said CSFD arrived at the mall at 3:51 a.m. after the fire alarm triggered the automatic sprinkler system.
The fire began in the rear of Journey’s shoe store at approximately 3:46 a.m. Eight surrounding stores, including Trevor’s, Gordon’s Jewelers, Wicks-n-Sticks, Victoria’s Secret, Coffee Beanery, Aggieland Outfitters, Gadzooks, Wet Seal and six kiosks, had water and smoke damage, Humphreys said.
“We can’t tell the exact point of origin, and we can’t tell why it started,” Humphreys said.
Jack Love, mall general manager, said the fire caused two sprinkler system heads to burst. Love said those were the two that were supposed to go off.
“The fire sprinkler system did what it was supposed to do,” he said.Love said the sprinkler system is designed to contain fires in small areas until the fire department arrives.
The mall has not determined the cost of the damages, Love said. All the stores that were damaged are now open, except Victoria’s Secret.
Victoria’s Secret is awaiting its corporate company to assess the cost of the damages, Love said.
Anna Arevlo, manager of Trevor’s, said the store opened two hours later on Sunday so it could be cleaned.
Arevalo said the most damage was done near the wall adjacent to Aggieland Outfitters because water was seeping underneath the wall into the store.
“In the middle of the store, there was about an inch of water and all the boxes on the floor got wet,” she said.
Love said the mall opened in time for the kid’s fair Saturday morning, and things went off “without a hitch.”
Love said in the future that carpets will need to be replaced and there may be some paint issues, but everything is back to normal.
“In the grand scheme of things everything is in good shape,” Love said.