Santa Fe police investigate possible arson at Cerrillos Road bike shop

Mar. 26—Santa Fe police have launched an arson investigation after the Broken Spoke, a bicycle shop on Cerrillos Road, caught fire Friday morning.

Officers responded around 7 a.m. to help firefighters clear the area and were later called back to investigate a possible arson, Santa Fe Deputy Police Chief Paul Joye said.

An unoccupied storefront next to the Broken Spoke had caught fire, but firefighters were able to put out the flames quickly, Santa Fe Assistant Fire Chief Phil Martinez said.

The local bike shop, which is across the street from the Santa Fe Indian School, specializes in repair and service work, and sells a variety of bikes. The store has been at that location since 2011.

Owner Mike Chapman said he was "devastated" when he arrived at the property and saw what happened.

"I got a call from ADT Security at 7 this morning saying that there was an attempted burglary," he said. "I immediately looked at my phone and looked at the security cameras and saw smoke."

Chapman said when he arrived, firefighters were already there and he helped them get into the building. Chapman believes a campfire by a dumpster next to the building had gotten out of control, but Martinez said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The fire did not spread into the store, but a significant amount of smoke and ash did, Chapman said.

The fire department told Chapman the size of the flames warranted an arson investigation.

"I think [the fire] was something that just smoldered for a long time," he said.

He had seen remnants of fires outside the building before from people trying "to keep warm," he said.

Some of the store's inventory was significantly damaged by smoke that poured into the building, but Chapman said he hopes to reopen the shop soon.

"We won't be taking on any new service temporarily, but we intend to be back at it as quickly as we can," he said.