While more commonly praised for saving lives, Roanoke firefighters salvaged thousands of dollars of merchandise Wednesday morning for one downtown retailer.

When emergency officials arrived at Davidsons men's clothing store on South Jefferson Street they found no smoke or flames -- just gallons upon gallons of the stuff typically used to extinguish a blaze.

A contractor painting on the floor above Davidsons hit a sprinkler, sending an alarm to the fire station as an estimated 400 gallons of water went through the floor, soaking expensive suits, shirts, ties and socks in the showroom below.

The incident took place about 7 a.m. before any employees arrived. Workers from the Roanoke Fire-EMS Department were lugging water out by the bucket, working to save what remained of the inventory.

"Water was just running and soaking suits," said Capt. Todd Stone of Roanoke Fire-EMS. "We didn't want to waste any time."

Firefighters quickly sawed through the store's lock, shut down the sprinkler system and began pumping out water. Larry Davidson, owner of the store, had just gotten out of the shower when he heard the news.

He praised firefighters for acting quickly, for shoving racks of suits into another room and covering what was left in the store.

"It really made a huge difference," he said. Davidson estimated that less than 15 percent of his merchandise was affected. The store reopened Wednesday afternoon.

Davidson said he does not know what he will do with the damaged goods. No damage estimate has been given.

The renovations that caused the mini-flood are part of a $1.5 million project to revamp the building at 412 S. Jefferson St., a project that includes a condominium for Davidson and his wife, Janice.

The incident marks the second time in more than a year that the store has experienced a setback.

An electrical fire on Nov. 18, 2006, filled the Jefferson Street building with smoke. In the heart of the company's best sales season, Davidson decided everything had to go so he could reopen the doors with new stock.

While Wednesday's events were less of a blow, Davidson said he hopes that 2008 will bring some normalcy to his downtown business.

Davidsons began selling men's clothes in downtown Roanoke in 1910. The family business moved to Jefferson Street in 1964.