Fire inside Marysville thrift store after burglary

A Marysville thrift store was burglarized then possibly torched early Tuesday, causing thousands in damages, authorities said.

CalFire-Marysville Capt. Dale Skinner called the fire at Attic Treasures Thrift Store on J Street "suspicious," but said investigators found no evidence of any accelerants that may have been used to spark the flames.

"It looked like it had been smoldering for quite some time before we got there," Skinner said.

No injuries were reported.

Marysville police are looking into the fire.

"It appears someone pried open the front door and removed several items before the fire started," Sgt. Chris Sachs said.

Citing the ongoing investigation, Sachs declined to comment on the specific items taken.

Skinner estimated interior damage around $25,000, but said there was no major structural damage.

Store owners could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

"The sheetrock held most of (the fire) in, which was good because it stopped it from spreading more," Skinner said.

Still sour-smelling smoke spread to A Place to Game, a amusement and toy store next door.

Eric Ashabran, co-owner of A Place to Game, was concerned about possible smoke damage to his merchandise and spent the day trying cleaning off thin layers of ash that appeared on nearly every counter top.

"It would be really bad for a lot of the paper products we sell," Ashabran said.

Ashabran said the inside of the thrift shop was heavily damaged.

"We walked through it afterwards, it's pretty bad," Ashabran said.

An ambulance crew passing by the store just after 1 a.m. spotted smoke coming from the store and alerted the fire department, authorities said.

At least 10 firefighters from CalFire-Marysville, Linda and Yuba City responded to the blaze and stayed on scene until after 3 a.m., Skinner said.

Several hand-written signs were posted on every window at the burned out store. One sign read: "They burned us down, but we will not stay down."

CONTACT Rob Parsons at rparsons@appealdemocrat.com or 749-4785. Find him on Facebook at /ADcrimebeat or on Twitter at @ADcrimebeat.