Firefighters this morning contained a small fire
– which started when a heating unit short-circuited – in the
library’s attic at San Benito High School.
Firefighters this morning contained a small fire – which started when a heating unit short-circuited – in the library’s attic at Hollister’s San Benito High School.
Damage was limited to the electrical unit and an access door firefighters had to break in the attic’s ceiling, said Capt. Jeff Granucci of the Hollister Fire Department.
Firefighters at the downtown station No. 1 were dispatched at 10:41 a.m. when maintenance workers at the high school heard the smoke alarm, Granucci said. No other people were inside the building at the time, he said.
When firefighters arrived and saw smoke, the crew called for a “full structural response,” which brings in two other engines, along with volunteers and off-duty personnel, Granucci said.
The fire had pretty much put itself out by the time firefighters arrived, but Granucci said the intense heat could have started it on fire again if it went unnoticed.
“It could have been worse,” he said.
After containing it, fire crews ventilated the building and disconnected power from the electrical unit. They also checked the building to make sure there were no other fires elsewhere and then shut the doors to the affected area, he said.
The department turned over the building to San Benito High School officials at about 12:15 p.m.
