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A 911 call came in at 8:53 p.m. Friday from an employee at Trader Joe's on the Post Road East, reporting a fire in a refrigeration unit inside the store.
"The employee was attempting to extinguish the fire using a fire extinguisher but was unsuccessful," Westport Assistant Fire Chief Brett Kirby said in a statement. "Dispatch advised the employee to pull the fire alarm to evacuate the store."
Two engines, a truck company and the shift commander responded and found smoke coming from the front of the store, he said.
The call was upgraded to a full structure fire response, bringing an additional two engines from Westport and an additional engine from Fairfield.
Firefighters confirmed with Trader Joe's management that the store had been fully evacuated, Kirby said.
As the fire inside a freezer unit was doused, firefighters checked surrounding stores for smoke, he said.
The fire was quickly confined to a small area within the store’s main level and fully extinguished within 15 minutes, Kirby said. Firefighters also checked the surrounding area with thermal-imaging cameras for any additional flames.
During the fire, Norwalk Fire Department provided coverage at Westport Headquarters.
The last Westport fire unit cleared the scene at 10:31 p.m.
The Westport Fire Marshal’s office is investigating the cause of the fire.
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