Mare Island Fire Destroys Vacant Navy Shipyard Building
VALLEJO (KCBS) — All Vallejo Fire Department units responded to a four-alarm massive structure fire on Mare Island just west of Vallejo on Sunday morning.
Fire Captain Mike Linnell said mutual aid assisted when firefighters responded to a vacant navy-shipyard building at K Street and Railroad Avenue when they received a call around 9:30 a.m. Several motorists, nearby residents and witnesses reported thick-black smoke from miles away on Highway 37 and I-780 and 80.
The fire department said the four-story, 150,000 plus square-foot building on the north end of Mare Island is a city-owned building
"It's a wind-driven fire because a lot of the gaps in the windows and in the building pushed the fire quite rapidly," said one firefighter who was explaining the situation.
The smoke could be seen turning from black to gray, which means the firefighters were in the process of dousing the flames.
"It's going to be a long operation because of the size of the building. We're not going to put anyone in harm's way unless there are lives at risk," said Linnell of the department's defensive strategy.
He described one problem being the lack of water supply on that side of the island as embers flew into the air catching some nearby fields on fire.
Towards the end of the morning, just beams remained as the fire is expected to burn itself out. No injuries were reported and the cause is under investigation.
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