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| Author Maggie St Thomas shared a photo from scene of the Barnes & Noble fire. | |
A Barnes & Noble store in Orange, Calif., has closed indefinitely after a fire broke out on Saturday, the Orange County Register reported.
The fire began at around 5 p.m. on April 29, while author and photographer Maggie St. Thomas was reading from her book Still Life: The Photographs of Maggie St. Thomas. Customers and staff were safely evacuated from the store and no injuries were reported. About 45 firefighters responded to the 911 call and had the blaze put out by around 9 p.m.
St. Thomas recalled that about 45 minutes into the event, she noticed a "weird plastic smell and could see thick smoke outside filling up the plaza parking lot." The fire alarm went off, and she could see "the top and bottom floor was filling with layers of smoke, and we were all evacuated."
She said the entire staff "handled the chaos with grace and professionalism," and she thanked the responding firefighters.
As of Monday, the fire's cause was still under investigation, and the bookstore will remain closed until further notice.