A sprinkler discharged a few hundred gallons of water inside of City Market in Cortez on Friday afternoon, closing the grocery store for a couple of hours.
Firefighters, police officers and sheriff’s deputies responded to a fire alarm at 2:11 p.m., and employees began turning away customers by 2:30 p.m. The store reopened at 4:40 p.m., and employees continued to mop up.
Earlier in the afternoon, the situation didn’t seem as bright.
“It could be the rest of the day until they get it cleaned up,” said Cortez Fire Chief Jay Balfour. “It just depends how long it takes them.”
He said a sprinkler head discharged near the deli, but firefighters did not find any signs of fire. The cause of the fire alarm and the sprinkler discharge is unclear. There was an odor of smoke, Balfour said, but its source was not verified.
The sprinkler discharged water at a rate of 15 gallons per minute and ran for 20 or 30 minutes, Balfour said, leaving a 50-foot diameter pool up to 1½ inches deep.
At the same time, a Southwest Health System EMS treated a woman outside the southern entrance to the grocery store for an undisclosed injury. Balfour said she was within 25 feet of the sprinkler discharge and might have had a physical reaction. She was transported to Southwest Memorial Hospital.
The store will reopen after authorities determine whether is free of water, debris and safety hazards. Balfour said employees at City Market will be on fire watch once it opens, meaning some employees will patrol the facility with fire extinguishers.
At 2:35 p.m., crime scene tape was placed at both store entrances, and store employees were turning away customers. A few dozen store employees gathered in the northwest parking lot until about 3 p.m., but the crime scene tape was still up as workers began to mop up.
Balfour said City Market had recently completed some HVAC maintenance, which might have contributed to the fire alarm and sprinkler discharge.
Cortez Police Department, Southwest EMS, Cortez Fire and Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office responded.
sdolan@the-journal.com