Warehouse fire near zoo triggers four-alarm response from Fresno city and county crews
A warehouse blaze triggered a massive response Saturday night by Fresno firefighters, who navigated through construction zones, dodged downed power lines and overcame water-supply issues to battle the city’s latest four-alarm fire in a busy month of June.
Crews from the city and Fresno County fire departments were called to the scene, near Fresno Chaffee Zoo and Roeding Park, just after 6 p.m.
Some explosions from propane tanks were heard coming from inside the warehouse — which is home to Quality Food Distribution and another business — along Thorne Avenue, Fresno City Fire spokesman Shane Brown said.
It was unclear what all of the contents were, but exterior placards did indicate that hazardous materials might be inside.
Brown believes the other business is a storage and transfer facility for a thrift store, but he was unsure which one.
A power pole also caught fire and collapsed, electrical lines fell, and a nearby grass field was ignited.
“When we arrived initially, we had heavy fire blowing through the roof and the east side of the structure,” Brown said. “We had a grass fire on the east side of the building that was running toward a live rail, so we had to address that.”
More surrounding grass catches fire
The power lines also were burning by the time the first crews pulled up. Another small grass fire erupted as Brown provided his initial media briefing, probably sparked, he said, by the downed lines.
There was no immediate word on the cause of the blaze. One building owner indicated that homeless people often gain entry on to the property, Brown said.
No injuries were reported.
More than 60 firefighters were on scene after facing some initial difficulties steering around construction in the area on their way in, with some roadways blocked.
Water supply also was an issue, Brown said, due to the location of the hydrants and the amount needed to fight a fire of that size.
‘Aggressive stand’ made
Firefighters were optimistic they would be able to save much of the part of the building that houses the food distributor.
“We were able to make an interior, aggressive stand on the forward section of this building,” Brown said, adding a brick wall separates two sections of the warehouse.
The forward section, he said, contains the food distribution area. The rear section used by the other business will be a total loss, Brown said.
Brown added late Saturday that a building to the north sustained fire damage, but crews performed what he said was a high-risk offensive operation that kept losses there to a minimum.
Firefighters were on the scene throughout the night but had cleared by Sunday morning.
Signs of fire visible for miles
Smoke could be seen throughout Fresno and in rural areas surrounding the city. A thick plume stretched far past Easton.
Some motorists stopped nearby to view the fire, the latest in a series of significant incidents in the city.
It was at least the fourth four-alarm blaze faced down by Fresno firefighters this month, Brown said, along with numerous others that triggered three- and two-alarm responses.
This story was originally published June 26, 2021 at 7:13 PM.
