North Phoenix supermarket destroyed by massive fire

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - Phoenix fire officials say a north Phoenix Safeway grocery store was completely destroyed by a three-alarm fire on Wednesday.

According to a statement by Captain Rob McDade, the fire happened near the area of 35th Avenue and Northern, and firefighters were called out, just before 6:00 p.m., for a reported fire in the supermarket's backroom. When crews arrived at the scene, they made a fast aggressive attack on the fire, and conducted a search and rescue while clearing the store of all patrons and employees.

Capt. McDade says investigators are looking into the possibility that there was a partial roof collapse in the back of the grocery store that broke a gas line and damaged the main electrical box, which may have started the fire.

There was a microburst in the area that dropped a large amount of rain before the fire and due to the grocery store's flat roof, Capt. McDade says it may have collected the rain and water from previous storms during the week.

Firefighters evacuated all employees and customers inside the store before using a defensive strategy to fight the fire.

No one was injured during the fire.

Safeway Statement on Store Fire in Phoenix, AZ: