Small fire breaks out in Old Navy store

An electrical fire broke out at 12:55 a.m. Saturday in the Old Navy clothing store at West Park Mall in Cape Girardeau.

According to store employees, the fire damaged one of the sub-electrical panels in the store's electrical room, but did not affect the main panel.

All four fire stations responded to a report of a "popping noise" and the smell of smoke in the store.

According to the fire report, flames were seen in the box. The fire was quickly extinguished with dry-chemical extinguishers.

Other crews acted to keep the smoke from reaching other stores within the mall. Firefighters set up exhaust fans and prevented the smoke from extending into the mall's common area.

The fire and smoke were confined to the back area of the store, an employee said.

The store was closed at the time of the fire, but employees were inside restocking. No injuries were reported.

The store was open for its normal hours Saturday, and none of the merchandise displayed suffered any damage. An employee said there were boxes in the back of the store that could be affected, but it hasn't been evaluated yet.

Ameren Missouri also arrived on scene Saturday morning to secure the utilities and cleared the store for opening.

Pertinent address:

3049 William St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.