JENSEN BEACH — The Treasure Coast Square Mall suffered significant smoke and water damage after a small fire broke out inside Santa’s Helper, Thursday morning, though the fire was quickly extinguished, a Martin County Fire Rescue spokesman said.

Just after 7 a.m., fire rescue received a call from an alarm company reporting a smoke alarm at Santa’s Helper, and about a minute later a security guard confirmed the fire, said Jon Belding, bureau chief of communications and public information officer for Martin County Fire Rescue.

The mall reopened about 10 a.m.

The store is north of the Borders store at the mall.

“Fire was contained to the store, the sprinkler did activate, did its job, contained the fire,” Belding said, standing at the scene. “There is significant water damage and smoke damage throughout the mall at this time.”

The fire appears appears to have started around the cash register and bagging area, and the cause remains under investigation. The fire was out at 7:23 a.m. — about 10 minutes after units arrived, Belding said.

“Nothing appears to be suspicious at this time,” Belding said.

Belding said officials anticipate being able to open at least portions of the mall Thursday, but it was not clear which parts.

About a half dozen Martin County Fire Rescue vehicles sat near the Borders store and Ann Taylor Loft early Thursday.

Belding said crews had to cut through a metal security gate in front of Santa’s Helper to access the blaze.

“They’re almost impenetrable for the most part,” Belding said. “We have to use either hydraulic tools or we have to use circular saws to force our way into there.”

This story will be updated as more information is received.

For more news, go to TCPalm.com

By Will Greenlee, TCPalm.com

Tags: cash, chief, fire, informant, jobs, Martin County Fire Rescue, Santa, Santa's Helper, saw, Treasure Coast Square mall

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 19th, 2009 at 4:54 am and is filed under Jensen Beach, Martin County. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.