Nearly three dozen firefighters battled a structure fire at a Wichita Falls furniture store Sunday morning.
The fire occurred around 6:30 a.m. at the Ashley Furniture HomeStore, located at 4400 Kell West Boulevard.
The fire was contained to the top of the structure and there is water damage inside of the building. No one was inside the store at the time of the furniture.
Twenty-nine Wichita Falls and five Sheppard Air Force Base firefighters battled the blaze.
Ashley Furniture released a statement on the fire Tuesday:
No statement was issued prior to this notice as we did not wish to interfere with officials performing their investigations and business. Now that all formalities have been completed, we are able to issue the following statement:
On Sunday, March 13, 2016, at approximately 6:20 a.m. City of Wichita Falls Fire Department responded to a fire at our Wichita Falls Store at 4400 Kell Blvd, Wichita Falls.
Wichita Falls Fire Department has provisionally determined that the cause of the fire was as a result of an electrical fault in the tower. A number of dead birds were also found in the rubble.
City officials, with the General Contractor, inspected the building and approved temporary work to bring the store back into operation. The store will be re-opened on Friday, March 18, 2016.
We extend our appreciation to the Wichita Falls Fire Department for the professional and excellent service rendered and for working with us to finalize their investigations. We also thank City Officials for their assistance and guidance as we move on with remedial work.
(Information from TexomasHomepage.com)