Fire engulfs the Rashid Imports building on South Sacramento Street in Downtown Lodi on Tuesday evening. (Dan Evans/News-Sentinel) More photos

Three-alarm fire destroys downtown business

A three-alarm fire raged for hours Tuesday evening in Downtown Lodi, destroying a two-story building and closing Sacramento Street overnight.

There were no injuries reported, and no cause had been determined by late Tuesday.

At 5:07 p.m., the Lodi Fire Department was called to investigate smoke across the street from the bus station, just south of Pine Street.

While fire crews were still on their way, they learned that the smoke was coming from Rashid Imports, 27 S. Sacramento St.

Five minutes later, a second alarm was called.

But for more than an hour, no flames were seen from outside. Bystanders watched as light brown smoke seeped from vents and windows on the second floor and drifted east.

Firefighters soon determined that the smoke was coming from the basement that had only one entrance and was filled with boxes stacked from floor to ceiling.

No flames were seen, but the boxes were smoldering, firefighters reported from inside the basement.

Such a fire is difficult to battle, said Fire Chief Michael Pretz, because fire burns upward.

"It's like fighting a house fire by going down the chimney," he said.

Firefighters began working to ventilate the building without fanning the fire, and smoke began billowing from the roof.

Owner Fayeq Rashid arrived from San Joaquin General Hospital, where he was receiving medical treatment until a family member called to tell him of the fire, he said.

The basement was full of boots, Rashid said, watching the smoke that had become dark brown and was attracting more bystanders.

Worried parents arrived to pick up their children from karate class in the building that was separated from Rashid Imports by an empty lot.

An hour after a second alarm was called, the fire was raised to a three-alarm blaze, calling in even more area and off-duty firefighters to help.

Engines blared their horns to order all crew members to evacuate the building while the fire was reassessed.

No actual flames had yet been seen, but the boxes in the basement were still smoldering, crews reported.

Firefighters went back into the building and then, at 6:25 p.m., flames were seen from the first floor. Once again, crews were ordered to evacuate the building.

Lodi firefighters wait for their next orders as smoke billows from Rashid Imports on Sacramento Street on Tuesday evening in Lodi. (J. Paul Bruton/News-Sentinel) More photos

Within one minute, flames had moved to the second floor and were leaping from the roof.

Firefighters had left the building just in time, though some gear was likely lost to the flames.

Black smoke poured out the building and blew east, though it could also be seen from as far west as Interstate 5.

"It looked like a volcano, with smoke and fire swirling around," Minerva's Furniture owner Scott Molinari said later.

Firefighters went into what they called "defensive mode," working to keep the blaze from spreading to the furniture store that shared the northern wall.

Rashid, who had alternated between sitting and pacing, began having chest pains and was taken to the hospital in an ambulance that was waiting at the scene.

Firefighters from Lodi, Waterloo-Morada, Thornton and Mokelumne fire departments battled the blaze, while Woodbridge engines helped staff Lodi's stations.

The flames were nearly red as they leaped skyward, sending embers flying.

One piece of burning debris flew across the street and parking lot, landing on the roof of the Greyhound station. Firefighters soon put out the fire, then hosed down the rest of the roof as a precaution.

Across the street, the fire continued to rage. Water from several hoses poured out at up to 4,000 gallons per minute, Pretz said.

Three hours after the fire began, flames were still 10 feet high.

As the merchandise burned up and the water gradually doused the flames, a new problem arose: The water began to seep into the full basement of Minerva's Furniture.

Though the brick wall had kept fire from reaching the furniture store, Molinari was bracing for major smoke and water damage.

Four hours after the fire began, flames still glowed orange inside Rashid Imports. Crews stayed all night to watch for hot spots after the fire was put out, Pretz said.

The fire cause was not known Tuesday night, and Pretz did not have a damage estimate.

However, fire crews expected that the 5,250-square-foot building would be completely destroyed, other than a few remaining walls.