SEASIDE – The cause of a fire in the 200 building of the Seaside Factory Outlet Center Wednesday is under investigation today.

After spending all of Wednesday afternoon and part of the evening in the building, fire officials were still unable to pinpoint exactly what set the Paper Store inventory room ablaze.

Fire crews from Seaside, Gearhart, Hamlet and Cannon Beach responded to a fire call at the Paper Store at 11:50 a.m. and by 2 p.m. crews were working to air out the stores affected by the fire.

According to Seaside Fire Marshal Chris Dugan, a small fire was reported in the store room of the store and crews observed “blackish-brownish” smoke coming from the back of the building upon arrival.

He and Chief Dale Kamrath took immediate charge.

“The chief and I arrived at the same time and when he saw the smoke, he called for a second alarm,” said Dugan.

What started the fire is in question. What is not in question is that the stores on either side of the Paper Store – Dress Barn, Dress Barn Woman, and Factory Brand Shoes – all sustained significant smoke damage.

“I have no idea what the loss value is,” said Dugan. “But the dollar loss is going to be substantial.” He said a “blind shot in the dark” is a loss of over $1 million worth of merchandise.

According to Dugan, the building would have been a complete loss without the sprinkler system that is in place.

“This is my plug for sprinklers,” said Dugan. He said there are approximately 300 sprinklers in the building and the two nearest the fire are the two that were activated. The sprinklers tamed the fire enough to allow firefighters to enter the building and minimize the damage.

The building was closed Wednesday, but Dugan said some businesses could potentially open as soon as Thursday. The Paper Store, Dress Barn, Dress Barn Woman, and Factory Brand Shoes will be closed indefinitely to deal with smoke damage.

Outlet mall manager Staci Miethe was on hand Wednesday as crews went through the building. She said the closure was unfortunate and is the second closure of one building in the mall complex since the December 2007 storm. Immediately following the storm, the 100 building, which houses Eddie Bauer among other stores, was closed because the roof was damaged.

“Three days could make or break your month right now,” said Miethe.