Raging Fire Engulfs Safeway Supermarket In Phoenix

Fire destroyed a Safeway grocery store in Phoenix Wednesday evening, engulfing the building in flames for more than an hour and producing a tower of smoke that could be seen for miles. Phoenix fire officials said a roof on the building apparently had collapsed during a storm that brought a heavy downpour in the area prior to the fire. The three-alarm fire broke out at the store near 35th and Northern avenues just before 6 p.m., the Phoenix Fire Department said. Both Phoenix and Glendale fire departments responded to the fire, which largely had been controlled after 7 p.m., although numerous spots still were burning within the store’s perimeter.