Electrical Problem Causes Small Fire At The Shoppes At Westgate

Henrico Fire crews were called to the Shoppes At Westgate shopping center at Lauderdale and Broad just after 10:30 a.m. with reports of heavy smoke coming from the Panera Bread side of the building.

The small fire was determined to be caused by an electrical problem and was quickly contained, causing minimal damage to the cafe. Electricity was cut to the entire shopping center, and Dominion Virginia Power was on scene determining the source of the electrical problems that caused the incident.

Local resident Tori Sydnor is a barista at the Starbucks a few doors down, and snapped and submitted the photo seen above on her phone. Sydnor was working at the time and said all stores and restaurants in the shopping center were evacuated merely as a precaution. Power remained out at press time, but is expected to be restored relatively soon. There’s no word on the source of the fire besides the fact that it was electrical in nature.