Telepeer

Fire at Barnes & Noble in Orange disrupts book-signing event

May 1, 2023

A book-signing event at a Barnes & Noble in Orange was cut short on Saturday, April 29, after a fire broke out inside the business, leading to the store’s closure for the foreseeable future.

Author and photographer, Maggie St. Thomas, was performing a reading of her new book, “Still Life: The Photographs of Maggie St. Thomas,” to a crowd inside the book store, on the 700 block of South Main Street, when the fire broke out some time around 5 p.m., according to Orange Deputy Fire Marshal Robert Prendergast. Customers and staff were evacuated from the store and no injuries were reported.

The fire quickly grew to a second alarm, with about 45 personnel from Orange County Fire Authority, Anaheim Fire & Rescue and Orange Police called in to assist with the fire.

The blaze was contained around 9 p.m., Prendergast said.

The cause of the fire and an estimate of the damage were under investigation on Sunday.

The Barnes & Noble store was closed on Sunday and would remain so until further notice, the bookseller announced on Instagram.

Crime and Public Safety |

Nob Fire in San Bernardino forest closes at least 16 miles of Pacific Crest Trail

Crime and Public Safety |

Fire breaks out during ‘Fantasmic’ show at Disneyland; no injuries reported

Crime and Public Safety |

20 Fullerton residents displaced after apartment fire

Crime and Public Safety |

15 displaced after fire rips through Buena Park apartment complex

Orange County Register