A sprinkler located immediately above the first floor area where a fire started behind a vending machine contained the fire, which was extinguished by firefighters within minutes of the alarm being activated.
The sprinkler system, installed in 2001, is credited with saving the Stuart St headquarters of the nationwide sporting goods chain, marketing and operations manager Miff Macdiarmid said.
"This sprinkler saved our bacon - as did the Fire Service."
The fire served as a reminder on the importance of fitting sprinkler systems into older buildings, and were worth the initial high cost of installation.
The system prevented the fire from being much worse, she said.
Contractors were busy cleaning the store and rewiring water-damaged fittings.
While snowboards, skis, and bicycles were not damaged, a large amount of men's clothing on the ground floor, including a rack of new T-shirts put out on the day of the fire, had been damaged as water seeped down from the first floor.
Insurance assessors have estimated the smoke, water and soot damage to be about $700,000 and a "fire sale" of clothing, footwear, jackets, sleeping bags and tents will begin today at 9am, with goods discounted between 20% and 70%.
