Ikea Store in Emeryville Evacuated – Fire Hazard

By Sasha Lekach, Bay City News Service

The Ikea furniture store in Emeryville was evacuated for more than an hour today because of a potential fire hazard, an Alameda County fire spokeswoman said.

A report of a fire at the store, located at 4400 Shellmound St., came in around 11:30 a.m., fire spokeswoman Aisha Knowles said.

As a precautionary measure, store management decided to evacuate the store after fire crews found an overloaded electrical panel, Knowles said.

Authorities determined there was no fire and the evacuation ended around 1 p.m., she said.

Erin Lynch, 32, had come down from Healdsburg in Sonoma County with her sister to buy furniture and decorations for her niece's bedroom today.

They had sat down with food at the store's cafeteria when the cashiers told them they had to evacuate, Lynch said.

Lynch said they left everything on the table -- including their caprese salad -- and waited outside for 30 minutes.

"No one knew what was going on," she said. "We thought it was a fire drill."

When they realized they were going to be waiting for a long time, they left.

Although the shopping trip was disrupted, Lynch said she was grateful no one was injured.

She said they would return in a few weeks for a hopefully less eventful shopping experience.

Lynch said there was no smell of smoke and it was hard to hear what was being announced on the overhead speakers -- which she described as frustrating.

She said she is going to write a letter to Ikea to criticize their emergency procedures.

"I think it's a perfect opportunity for them to look at their process and how to improve it," she said.

Oakland and Alameda fire department personnel also responded to the incident at the store.

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