FIREFIGHTERS with the thermal imaging camera used to find the origins of the fire that ravaged a McDonald’s eatery in Garden Grove Thursday afternoon (GGFD photo).

A fire that did damage of up a half million dollars struck a McDonald’s restaurant in southern Garden Grove Thursday afternoon. According to Capt. Thanh Nguyen of the Garden Grove Fire Department, the blaze was reported at 9852 Westminster Ave. shortly after noon.

Arriving firefighters saw people running out of the eatery as smoke billowed from the structure. Using a thermal imaging camera, the GGFD was able to find the fire’s origin in the basement and knock it down within 14 minutes.

The cause of the fire is believed to be a malfunctioning electrical line. Although damage to the structure is believed to be between $400,000 and $500,000, an unknown additional amount of merchandise was also lost.

Assistance to the GGFD was provided by the Orange County Fire Authority and officials from the city building department and the Orange County Health Care Agency were on the scene to assess structural and food damage.

According to Capt. Nguyen, all GGFD units are equipped with the thermal imaging camera, which helps not only spot the starting point of the fire, but also in locating trapped victims and showing hidden fires not visible in plain sight.