A small fire in a Nordstrom storeroom at The Woodlands Mall on Friday, Oct. 23, forced the department store to temporarily close while firefighters cleared smoke from the building.
No injuries were reported.
Crews from The Woodlands Fire Department were dispatched to the mall around 12:40 p.m. after someone reported a smoke smell inside the store, KHOU reported. As the first truck arrived, employees reported seeing light smoke, which prompted a larger response.
Inside, firefighters were directed to a storeroom where a Nordstrom employee had already found the fire and used an extinguisher to begin knocking it down, according to The Woodlands Fire Department. Crews finished putting it out with water cans and checked whether it had spread.
The fire appeared to have started in a trash can, with damage confined to the immediately surrounding area, the department said.
Firefighters worked with mall staff to remove smoke from Nordstrom and prevent it from spreading into the rest of the mall. The mall itself remained open throughout the incident, according to Montgomery County Police Reporter, though Nordstrom stayed closed as crews worked to clear the second floor.
The Montgomery County Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the cause.
