This article was modified at 12:46 p.m. Dec. 29, 2012, to include more details.
A non-injury fire early Saturday broke out in the heating and air conditioning unit at a popular Fair Oaks sushi place, severely causing smoke and water damage to the eatery, officials said.
The fire at Mikuni, 4323 Hazel Ave., was reported about 2:30 a.m., according to Michelle Eidam, with the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District.
The owner of the restaurant -- there is another location in Elk Grove -- tweeted about the fire Saturday morning.
"Feel like my own house just got caught on fire," tweeted Taro Arai.
"But I know God has a great plan for us," he added.
Eidam told Patch that the fire started in the HVAC system on the roof, which was damaged; the HVAC dropped into the attic space, damaging that area as well.
At that point the sprinklers were activated.
"We were activated because of a water-flow alarm," Eidam told Patch.
Firefighters arrived to find light smoke in the building.
They put smoldering embers out on the roof, then got to work turning off the sprinklers and cleaning up the water, Eidam told Patch.
"We Squegee under ovens, everywhere, to get out as much water as possible," Eidam said in an interview.
Damage was at least $50,000 but Eidam said the restaurant owner expected the cost to increase.
An adjacent unit also sustained some water damage and a dry cleaners two doors down had smoke damage to clothing and the dry cleaning equipment, Eidam said.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
