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SANTA MARIA, Calif. - A popular health food store in Santa Maria caught fire a couple weeks ago, and the investigation into the cause is experiencing some delays.

Just before midnight on April 15th, the Santa Maria Fire Department responded to a call at Lassen's Natural Foods store on Broadway.

“When fire crews first arrived, we had active fire, a significant amount of flame coming out of the roof and attic area of the building,” says Jim Austin, Santa Maria Fire Marshal.

When crews arrived, the building looked like it was in danger of collapsing, so they had to work with an abundance of caution.

“They saw signs of the building losing integrity. And so they backed out and went to what we call a defensive attack,” says Austin.

The investigation is taking awhile because of damaged equipment on the interior and the possible presence of asbestos.

“There is a security camera system inside the building. It's my understanding that the data is stored offsite. So we're trying to coordinate and get that information,” says Austin.

The fire marshal says they're coordinating with the business owners and various insurance entities to bring cranes and similar equipment out to clear the hazards and investigate the potentials of asbestos exposure before continuing the investigation.

“We are going to stabilize it as best we can. And like I said, layer by layer, remove components from the top and then when we are done with the investigation, based on my past experience and the damage to the building, it will most likely be completely torn down in the demolition phase,” says Fire Marshal Austin.

Lassen's Natural Foods has been a popular store in Santa Maria for many years, and locals hope the company will reopen the store at a nearby location.

A two-alarm fire caused significant damage to the longtime home of the Lassens Natural Foods & Vitamins store in Santa Maria.

At approximately 11:44 p.m. Tuesday, personnel from all Santa Maria Fire Department stations across the city arrived at the business at 1790 S. Broadway in the Plum Tree Plaza.

“It appears when the units got here the fire was all in the attic,” Fire Marshal Jim Austin said Wednesday morning.

Firefighters positioned on top of the building could see the roof starting to fail and were removed due to the danger, Austin said.

That prompted firefighters to switch from an offensive mode to a defensive mode where they battled the blaze from outside the structure.

The roof on the south side of the structure eventually collapsed, creating additional challenges for firefighters.

“When you have a building collapse like that and it’s so involved in fire, it gets into all these little nooks and crannies that were created by the collapse,” Austin said. “We still have smoke on one of the corners of the building because it keeps going like that.”

Smoke still rose from one the southwest corner of the structure at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

A refrigeration unit held up the collapsed structure, which also included heating and air-conditioning units, making the interior too dangerous for firefighters working to determine the cause.

But Austin said his preliminary investigation has determined the fire’s cause as accidental with the area of origin appearing to be on the south side of the building.

The building was secure when firefighters arrived so there doesn’t appear to have been a break-in, he added.

In addition to the Santa Maria agency, crews from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department and Cal Fire responded along with a ladder truck from the Five Cities Fire Department and an engine from the Pismo Beach Fire Department.

No injuries were reported.

South Broadway between Inger and Newlove drives was closed for several hours due to the firefighting activity.

The city’s Building Department staff placed a red tag on the building to indicate the dangerous conditions.

Austin recalled the building former tenant being a Sizzler restaurant decades ago.

After the Sizzler closed, a bulk food store moved in for a few years before Lassens opened.

Lassens has operated for more than 50 years and has 11 stores including in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Venture, Oxnard, Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley. However, the Thousand Oaks store is scheduled to close April 30 after its lease wasn’t renewed, according to a Ventura County Star article.

A Santa Maria grocery store was destroyed by a fire Tuesday night.

Santa Maria Fire Marshal Jim Austin says firefighters responded to a fire alarm call at Lassen’s Natural Food on the 1700 block of South Broadway at 11:44 p.m. Once 911 calls started coming in, additional engines were sent.

Austin says firefighters were able to gain control of the fire in less than two hours, but said there were hot spots and small, active areas of the fire that burned into the afternoon on Wednesday due to the severity of the fire.

Austin says while the cause is unknown, it’s believed to have started in the attic area and likely on the south end of the building.

He says there was no indication of foul play or the fire being intentionally set and is confident it’s accidental; however, due to the roof partially collapsing and safety concerns, the fire investigation was unable to be completed.

Austin says specialized equipment will be needed to assist them with completing their investigation, which he’s hoping can be done in the next week or two.

Multiple agencies assisted with the firefight, including all six engines, a ladder truck and battalion chief from Santa Maria City Fire, an engine and battalion chief from Santa Barbara County Fire, a ladder truck from the Five Cities Fire Authority, an engine from Pismo Fire and additional help from CAL FIRE crews in Nipomo.

By Wednesday afternoon, locks were placed on the doors to the store and fencing put up around the perimeter to keep people out. Austin says the structure is unstable and the roof is continuing to collapse.

KSBY has reached out to Lassen’s for comment but has not yet heard back.

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