Shopping center evacuated for electrical fire

<p>The Washington Square shopping center, including Safeway, was evacuated late Wednesday afternoon after electrical equipment was found smoking and arcing in the old Mervyn's store. </p><p>All on-duty Petaluma firefighters, along with some Rancho Adobe firefighters, were sent to the South McDowell Boulevard shopping Center around 4:30 p.m. They found smoking electrical equipment in the back of the old Mervyn's store, where remodeling is underway.</p><p>Firefighters then found additional, outside equipment that was smoking and arcing at the other end of the shopping center, hundreds of feet away, said Petaluma Battalion Chief Russ Rasmussen in a press release. </p><p>The area was evacuated when firefighters found that some of the electrical conduit on the outside of the buildings might be energized and could spread to any conductive material it touched — a potentially deadly hazard. </p><p>Mary Jane Hutchinson, office manager for the Argus-Courier, was standing in the check-out line at Safeway with ingredients for that night's dinner when she was informed everyone had to leave the store. That happened at around 5:30 p.m., she said.</p><p>"They didn't say why we needed to evacuate," she said, but noted that everyone stayed calm. Unsure what the problem was or how long it would take to fix, Hutchinson changed her dinner plans. </p><p>"We had takeout instead," she laughed.</p><p>Meanwhile, the fire department asked Pacific Gas & Electric to shut off the power as quickly as possible. </p><p>While waiting for PG&E to arrive, fire crews stood by with hose lines to prevent the fire from spreading and searched the businesses for any signs of smoke or electrical problems. </p><p>The evacuation went smoothly, thanks to the cooperation of the businesses, said Rasmussen.</p><p>Shoppers were allowed back into businesses after PG&E shut off the power to the old Mervyn's store. </p><p>The exact cause of the problem is still under investigation, but Rasmussen noted that a city building official will need to inspect the premises and electrical equipment before power can be restored at that location.</p>