Refrigerator catches fire at South Hill’s Rocket Market

A refrigerator of wine at the Rocket Market on the South Hill caught fire Friday after the cooling unit overheated. The wine was undamaged.

At about 3 p.m., the cooling unit for the refrigerator began to smoke and flame, but was quickly extinguished with a fire extinguisher, said Rocket Market owner Shanda Shepherd.

“I looked down and saw some (flames),” Shepherd said.

The market, 726 E. 43rd Ave., which also sells gas, shut down for about an hour after the fire, but reopened after fire crews arrived and confirmed there was no danger.

The market still smelled faintly of smoke hours after the fire, but customers were still busy buying goods and gas.

Owner Alan Shepherd said he called the health department asking about the extinguisher residue on the wine bottles, but “they were never worried about it,” he said.

The wine was unharmed by the flames and extinguisher residue, Shepherd said.

“That’s the one thing that was fine,” she said.