Three businesses were destroyed in a large commercial fire at the Nisqually Plaza strip mall in the 900 block of Yelm Avenue East early on the morning of Dec. 22 with firefighters arriving on scene shortly after 1 a.m.

Happy Feet Spa, Red Nail salon and the Freedom Training Center all received extensive damage. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

While the businesses’ walls were still standing when the Nisqually Valley News arrived on the scene, the interior of the businesses amounted to a near total loss as smoke still rose from the smoldering interior.

The roof of the Freedom Training Center collapsed at some point during the morning, and debris, including broken glass and still-intact bottles of nail polish from the salon, was strewn across the Nisqually Plaza parking lot.

Kevin Denton, battalion chief of health and safety and training for East Olympia Fire and Southeast Thurston Fire Authority, said that shortly after 1 a.m., Southeast Thurston Fire Authority received “multiple calls coming in for a possible structure fire, with flames visible from multiple callers.”

When the first units arrived at the scene, Denton said firefighters saw what appeared to be flames coming through the roof, which appeared on the back side of the building, while flames began to lick through the windows to the front.

“At that time, the crew initiated what we call defensive attacks with our large … hoses,” Denton said. “And we waited for more crews to arrive on scene to continue operations.”

East Olympia Fire District 6, Lacey Fire District Three, the Olympia Fire Department and South Thurston Fire and EMS responded, as well as the Bald Hills Fire Department.

“The crews did great,” Denton said. “We had a lot of different agencies coming in to help us. We had eight engines and two ladder trucks operating together. Having so many agencies can, at times, be confusing and challenging, but it went relatively really well last night. They did a great job saving most of the strip mall.”

He said Freedom Training Center, Happy Feet Spa and Red Nails salon sustained the heaviest damage, while O'Reilly Auto Parts sustained damage to a lesser extent.

“We had the fire contained probably within two hours,” Denton said. “Because of the (roof) collapse, crews were unable to get into (the) interior, so we had to hit the hot spots from outside, and that is difficult. It just takes a lot longer to do safely.”

He said that while Southeast Thurston Fire Authority is not willing to share their suspicions on how the fire started, fire investigators are currently working to find the cause behind the blaze.

“They called in ladder trucks just because of the potential for spreading,” Yelm Assistant Fire Chief Rob Carlson said as he surveyed the smoldering ruins. “It looks to be that the origin of the fire was at the gym at some location. The fire inspectors are here.”

Carlson said he’s anxious to find out how the blaze started.

“I’m kind of curious, at this point, where they find that origin (to be)” he said. “And kind of what caused it, because there is an investigation piece to it on our end as well. I want to know if we need to get involved with our detective and our investigators to find out … if it was set accidentally (or) if it was set intentionally. We don’t know.”

Dave Sweet, the agent of the Nisqually Plaza owners, said that based on information he has obtained, the blaze could have been started by a transient.

“Apparently, we got video tape coming, but they saw somebody run out of the back, after a small fire and then it exploded and it caught (the complex) on fire,” Sweet said. “So it was probably (a) homeless (individual), but we can’t verify that at this moment.”

He said Nisqually Plaza will build a temporary fire wall and then rebuild another firewall to separate other businesses from the ones that were destroyed. They will then rebuild  the lost storefronts.

Police Chief Todd Stancil said his department was dispatched right around 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning. 

Calson said the police play a minor role when handling situations like this.

“As far as the law enforcement piece, we just make sure that we keep people back and all that while they do their business,” Carlson said. “(Fire crews) did everything they could to make sure nothing else happened. … They handled their business well.”

Sweet agreed, saying firefighters went above the call of duty. 

“It was fully engulfed by the time they got here and they were able to keep it from taking the whole place,” Sweet said. 

Denton said the fire’s devastation is a terrible thing for the community, especially at Christmas time.

“It’s just unfortunate this time of year to have three businesses and families … lose their livelihoods,” Denton said. “It’s really unfortunate, and you know, the crews did a great job saving the rest. Nobody got hurt, which is our biggest concern, so at this time there are no victims.”

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