Blaze damages video store

Herald staff

EVERETT — The whole thing was caught on tape.

The culprit was a heat gun used to encase videos in shrink wrap that either was left on or malfunctioned, Everett Fire Department investigator Darryl Stoutsenberger said.

When fire broke out about 5:20 a.m. Thursday at a Blockbuster video store in the 8600 block of Evergreen Way, the sprinkler system saved the building, and the store’s video camera filmed it.

The fire began among highly combustible items, including plastics, wood and papers, which would have built up the fire quickly had the sprinklers not gone off, he said. The store filled with smoke, but the store lacked a smoke detector, he said.

"Their security video videotaped the whole fire. You could see it first ignite, and when our crews came in a few minutes later to extinguish it. Had there been a smoke detector in there, we might have gotten there soon enough to not have any damage," Stoutsenberger said.

The fire was confined to the front counter, and the videos were unaffected, he said. The business reopened later Thursday.

He estimated the damage at $10,000, most of which occurred because firefighters had to cut into the roof to make sure there was no more fire.