A fire at the Folsom Boulevard Flea Market on Friday destroyed several businesses, according to the Sacramento Fire Department.
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A fire at the Folsom Boulevard Flea Market on Friday destroyed several businesses, including a vintage video game store with more than 20,000 games and collectibles.
Sacramento Fire Department Capt. Justin Sylvia said the fire started around 4:30 p.m. in a barn-style building.
The building’s compartments made it difficult for firefighters to reach the fire, but crews quickly knocked down the flames after gaining access and prevented them from spreading to other buildings, Sylvia said.
No one was injured. The flea market was closed at the time, and the cause remains under investigation.
David Smith, who has operated his video game business at the flea market for 33 years, lost more than 20,000 games, along with memorabilia and other collectibles. CBS (KVOR) reported the loss is estimated at more than $500,000.
Smith said he spent more than four decades building the collection.
“We had 33 years here and 10 years at Denio’s,” Smith told CBS. “Started out running around on a bicycle, picking up games around the neighborhood.”
Cal Expo is sponsoring a table for Smith during Halloween weekend, where he plans to sell items recovered from the fire.
The Red Barn Collective, an artist collective at the flea market, also suffered extensive heat and smoke damage. The group said the fire destroyed about half of the structure and severely damaged five of its spaces.
Members salvaged some artwork and belongings but said most of what they had built inside was lost, according to their GoFundMe fundraiser post. Vendors are now sorting through the wreckage as they wait to learn the future of the property.
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Nicole Buss is The Sacramento Bee’s Roseville/Placer County watchdog reporter. She previously covered Placer County at Gold Country Media. Buss grew up in Lincoln and is a graduate of Sierra College and Arizona State University.