Ida Red Brookside Store Closed Indefinitely After Fire

A Brookside business owner is devastated after a fire damages her store and destroys most of her inventory. The owner of Ida Red says it could be at least a month until she can get the location reopened.

Piles of ash are all that’s left on one of the tables inside the store. The fire was limited to the front of the store, but smoke damage is widespread.

“I’ve never been in a fire or part of anything that caught on fire,” said Angelene Wright, owner of Ida Red. “I really didn’t have any idea how fast that smoke and ash spreads through a building.”

Wright says Halloween merchandise placed on the table caught fire. An employee coming into work saw it and called 911.

Firefighters say the cause is accidental. They put the flames out quickly, but the store will have to stay closed until cleanup is over and inventory is replaced.

“We’re preparing for Christmas,” said Wright. “This time of year is when in retail you start getting ready for that big push.”

Wright says this is another setback as a small-business owner. She is still recouping after a car smashed through her South Tulsa store less than two years ago.

“I’ve been through enough struggles at this point to know to just take it one step at a time and keep going,” she said. “That’s really all you can do.”

Wright says her business has gotten a lot of support from the community and that is what she looks to rely on once again. The locations in downtown and South Tulsa remain open.