Dec. 21—An overnight fire at Pruett's Food in McAlester resulted in a temporary delay in the store opening Thursday morning.

McAlester Fire Department investigators were inside the store early Thursday, trying to determine the cause of the fire.

"We received a call at approximately 1:50 a.m.," said McAlester Fire Chief Brett Brewer. He said the McAlester Fire Department got the call after a passerby saw smoke coming from the Pruett's Food store, at 601 E. Wyandotte Ave.

"When our firefighters arrived at the scene the sprinkler system had already activated," Brewer said.

Most of the fire had been put out by the sprinkler system, except in a small area that was extinguished by firefighters because it was out of the sprinkler system's reach, he said.

The fire was limited to a storeroom in the bakery area, store and fire department personnel said.

Pruett's Food owner Ray Pruett arrived in McAlester early Thursday as the fire investigation remained underway.

He said the plan was to reopen the store Thursday as soon as possible.

"There was minimal damage," Pruett said. "We've got to get some water off the floor; we've just got to do some housecleaning."

Fire investigators allowed Ray Pruett, McAlester store Manager Lyndell Collins, and Pruett's Director of Operations Christian Smith inside the building for a walk-through so they could see the damage and determine what it would take to reopen.

Collins, who lives in McAlester, said he rushed to the store as soon as he was notified of the fire around 1:30 a.m. Thursday morning.

"A small fire broke out on the bakery department," he said as he waited outside the store early Thursday.

Approximately 25-to-30 employees were affected, he said, since the store did not be open at its usual time as a result of the fire.

After the McAlester Fire Department gave the OK for Pruett's staff to enter the building, some went inside to help with the cleanup.

Pruett's customers who arrived at the McAlester store early Thursday found yellow tape strung along the store entrances, prohibiting entry to the still-closed building.

They included Emily Gutierrez, who said she came by Pruett's to pick up some jalapeno peppers.

"I usually come here to do my little shopping," she said. Gutierrez, who said she's met Ray Pruett, said she likes to support Oklahoma-owned stores as much as she can.