Firefighters respond to smoke alarm at Food 4 Less

Smoke that briefly forced the evacuation of Food 4 Less on Wednesday evening was caused by a gasket failure in a refrigeration compressor, fire officials said.

Los Banos firefighters were called out at 6:43 p.m. to the grocery store at 2000 E. Pacheco Ave., Fire Chief Tim Marrison said.

While en route, firefighters were notified that employees noticed smoke in the back rooms and evacuated the store.

Fire engines were directed to the back end of the store, where firefighters noticed smoke near the loading dock.

The firefighters used fans to blow smoke out of the building, then identified the source of the smoke.

“There wasn’t a fire to put out,” Marrison said. “One of the compressor’s gaskets failed and sprayed oil everywhere,” causing the smoke.

Marrison said firefighters stopped the smoke by shutting down power to the compressors. The store sustained limited damage.

The same incident occurred several years ago at the Food 4 Less, Marrison said, so firefighters had an idea of what caused the smoke.

“It’s not uncommon for this to happen,” Marrison said about the blown gasket, adding that the Fire Department has dealt with blown gaskets at other locations around the city. “It doesn’t mean (Food 4 Less’) system is bad.”

This story was originally published July 28, 2016 at 3:33 PM with the headline "Firefighters respond to smoke alarm at Food 4 Less."