Lafayette Storage Facility Suffers Heavy Fire Damage, Vandalism Suspected

Wednesday morning at 3:16 a.m., Lafayette firefighters were called to a storage building behind the office of M.L. Murphy Designs Groups on 708 Taft Street. Flames were coming from the roof of the building. It suffered heavy fire damage.

Also, according to the owner, several items were taken from the building and the vehicle belonging to the owner’s son was vandalized with parts stolen from it. If you have any information, call Crime stoppers at 232-TIPS.

About 14 minutes before that at 3:02 a.m., firefighters responded to a fire at El Ranchito Store/Restaurant on 2415 Cameron Street. The building suffered heavy smoke and fire damage to the inside of the building. Investigators say the fire started behind the service counter. That fire was extinguished quickly. It remains under investigation.

And at 6:32 a.m., firefighters went out to a building on 304 Mecca Drive. When firefighters arrived, there was light smoke in the building. The fire was quickly extinguished. That building suffered minor fire damage.

It was determined that a heat gun used to do work ignited combustibles in a work area. The occupants noticed the small fire and quickly called the fire department. The cause of that fire was accidental.