Two fire engines and a truck responded to a call for an “unconfirmed structure fire” at the Safeway on Tres Pinos Road in Hollister this morning.
“All employees were evacuated as a precaution,” said Leo Alvarez, the division chief of the San Benito County Fire Department.
The call was made around 9:20 a.m. and the first truck responded within 2 minutes and 30 seconds, he said.
Employees were hosing down the meat department with water when a ground fault interrupter, which is a type of wall outlet, got water into it and short-circuited, he explained. There was visible smoke in the incident, Alvarez said.
By 9:48 a.m., all units except Engine 13 had been released to respond to other calls. A store employee stood at the door of the building and told customers it would reopen within 30 minutes.
