South Surrey's Semiahmoo Mall was evacuated earlier today following a reported mattress fire at the mall's Zellers.

According to eyewitness Rachel Becker, the fire broke out around 12:45 p.m.

"There was smoke coming from the Zellers and then the mall's emergency alarms went off," said Becker, noting the smoke didn't spread too far into the mall before the alarms sounded. "They closed the glass sliding doors in Zellers, so it wasn't too bad."

Deputy fire chief Jon Caviglia said the fire has since been put out and crews are currently working on getting people back into the building.

"Crews are clearing out the smoke and are in the process of doing some cleanup," he said.

As for when the mall would be open, Caviglia said he wasn't sure, but store employees were told the building would be closed for the day.

"Obviously the Zellers store will be closed longer," he said. "As soon as they get the smoke out they can begin letting people back in but it's going to be a while, it's a very big building, there's a lot of air to be moved."

UPDATE

Semiahmoo Mall will remain closed for the rest of the day with the expectation that it will be open tomorrow.