STANTON : Store Fire Damage Put at $1 Million

A four-alarm fire erupted in a discount store before dawn Friday, gutting the 50,000-square-foot brick building and causing $1 million in damage before firefighters could put the blaze out.

About 100 firefighters and 20 vehicles from the Orange County, Anaheim and Buena Park fire departments responded to the fire at the 99 Only store, which was reported at 3:34 a.m., said Orange County Fire Department spokesman Dan Young.

Young said the fire at 11400 Beach Blvd. was brought under control in one hour and 45 minutes. There were no injuries, he said.

In fighting the fire from the street, firefighters had to dodge exploding aerosol cans--including cans of hair spray and paint--that burst like fiery rockets through the windows, Young said.

By Friday evening, the Orange County Fire Department was still trying to identify the owner of the building and determine the cause of the fire, which was one of the largest in the county this year.

The building was leased by 99 and More Inc., which operates discount stores, Young said.

Because the Stanton Building Department had condemned the structure, Young said, the department’s bomb squad and arson investigators were being kept out until the walls could be removed.

When investigators are let in Tuesday, he said, they will be accompanied by a dog that is specially trained to sniff for gasoline.

Young said that the spread of the fire could have been prevented.

“If there had been sprinklers, the fire would have been held in check and we would have been notified (by an automatic alarm) as soon as the water flowed,” he said.