Fire Destroys Discount Store in Strip Mall

A fire broke out in a strip mall late Monday night, destroying a discount store and threatening several other businesses, fire officials said Tuesday.

By the time firefighters were called to the mall at 10:57 p.m., the 99 Cents Store at 433 N. Tustin Ave. was engulfed in flames, said Orange Fire Battalion Chief Ray Montoya.

“It was just a stubborn, stubborn fire,” Montoya said. “The fire had been burning for at least 15 minutes and all of the contents inside of the store were already burned. The fire was smoldering. We opened the doors to get in and there was dark, thick, hot smoke down to the floor, which made it difficult to find where the fire originated.”

It took 46 firefighters almost two hours to bring the blaze under control. The fire caused an estimated $700,000 damage to the store and its contents. No one was injured.

Other businesses in the mall suffered some smoke damage but firefighters were able to prevent the flames from spreading to a restaurant, video store and pet hospital housed in the same mall.

“It took some very aggressive firefighting to keep the fire confined to the one business,” Montoya said. “We’re very fortunate that we didn’t have any winds to get in our way.”

Firefighters forced their way into the pet hospital to rescue a dog that had just had surgery and was being boarded there for the night.

“The dog was really scared,” Montoya said.

Officials still have not determined a cause for the fire, which remains under investigation.