![]() After the sudden closure of this store in 1993, Albertsons said they were actively looking for sites around Lakeland to build a replacement store. Construction on the Polk Parkway began in 1996, and I'm wondering if some of the preliminary plans for the new road called for elimination of the Albertsons building (or much of its parking lot) to accommodate the interchange between the Parkway and South Florida Avenue, causing Albertsons to close this store early. The Polk Parkway is a 24-mile long toll road that forms a loop around Eastern, Southern, and Western Lakeland, connecting with Interstate 4 at both ends. The increase of Publix stores in the area could have been a factor in this store's closing, but I think another possible reason Albertsons closed this store was fear that the new Polk Parkway freeway (later built along the southern edge of the Albertsons property) was going to cut right through this building. While this store closed relatively early compared to many other Albertsons Florida locations, I don't think this store did terribly (even considering how much stronger Publix was becoming in the early 90's). However, the cause of the fires at the original Lakeland Albertsons will continue to be one of the great Florida retail mysteries. Either this store was cursed with bad luck from the beginning, or there was someone in Lakeland out to get this new Albertsons. One of the fires inside the store, which occurred on July 4, 1978, was set in the paper products aisle, and was also determined to be arson. Two fires were reported and extinguished behind the store in that time, and two were reported inside the store. Yes, there were four, although much smaller, fires reported at the new Albertsons between its March 1978 opening and the Great Fire on August 14, 1978. Interestingly enough, the great fire wasn't the first fire to be reported at the new Lakeland Albertsons since it opened - it was the fifth. After investigation, it was later determined the cause of the great fire was arson, however who set the fire and their motives for doing so are still a mystery to this very day. To make things worse, Albertsons had sent extra merchandise to this store just days before the fire in preparation for a large sale in the coming week. The damage caused by the Great Albertsons Florida Fire would later total over $3 million dollars (equivalent to $11 million in damages in 2017 dollars), including damages to the building and all of its inventory. From that same article I mentioned before, here are some excerpts from how the reporter and firefighters described the Great Albertsons Florida Fire: The fire eventually grew so large and so intense, that the Lakeland Fire Department decided the best approach to putting out the fire was letting it burn itself down, then putting out hot spots once the flames began to die off. At 5:10 am on August 14, 1978, the new Lakeland Albertsons was officially declared a total loss (as flames still continued to pour from the building). Two hours after that, flames made it to the front of the store. About an hour after the fire began, flames made their way out of the backrooms and into the main sales floor. When the fire crews first arrived at the scene, the intensity of the fire, along with the mix of cosmetics and chemicals in the storage room where the fire began, made it impossible for them to safely control it from the beginning. Instead of putting the sprinkler heads between the roof and the ceiling (a better method for containing and controlling larger fires), the sprinkler heads were placed on the lower ceiling over the sales floor (which only controls, smaller, more contained fires). However, the sprinkler system later failed due to the way it was installed, according to the Lakeland Fire Chief. While smoke was able to infiltrate the building soon after the fire began, the flames remained contained in the back of the store a little longer due to the new store's "modern sprinkler system".
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