UPDATE: Loop Clothing Store Sustains Heavy Smoke Damage in Apparent Electrical Fire

It appears an electrical fire is to blame for damaging a clothing store in the Delmar Loop Wednesday afternoon.  No one was hurt in the fire.

Around 3:15 p.m. fire crews from , St. Louis City and Mid-County responded to the fire at Timeless Authentic Garments (Tag) at 6314 Delmar Blvd.

The store is located between Noodles and Company and . Miner said those businesses sustained moderate smoke damage.

University City Fire Chief Don Miner told University City Patch that the fire, "looks like it was electrical in nature."

He said it appears to have broken out in a back room in the store, and was contained to that area.  Miner said the store sustained heavy smoke damage. 

Witnesses notice smoke

Stan Finch, a Chipotle employee told University City Patch that workers started smelling smoke in the eatery, but couldn't figure out where it was coming from.

"I was in the middle of making a burrito and I looked up and thought, 'Wow this restaurant is kind of smoky, what's going on?'"  Suddenly, he said, other workers turned off the grill and told him to go outside.

"By the time we were heading out that's when the store got real, real black smoky," Finch, said. "We came out, and the owner of the store with the fire in it...was stomping out her purse. It had caught on fire."

Neighbors pitch in

Some workers from Noodles and Company tried to put the fire out with buckets of water.

"I got up and ran in the back and grabbed the biggest container I could find that could hold water so I could run next door and put it out, but by the time I made it next door there was big, thick clouds of black smoke coming out," said James White. "I made it two steps in and had to turn back around."

George Patterson, who also works at Noodles and Company, said it smelled like wires were burning.

"My boss went outside and came back in hollering, we need some water!" Patterson said he went into Tag clothing store to try and help put the fire out, but quickly turned back.

Alex Weir, who works across the street from Tag , said he saw smoke coming out of the store's front door. "I thought, 'that's not good.'"

He said the smoke was gradual at first and then suddenly it just started pouring out of the front door. "People started running out of the store."

A woman identified to University City Patch as the owner of the store had no comment. She had black soot on her hands and face.