Debris gathering around an exhaust pipe of a small tractor
caught fire and ignited the Eagle Recycling blaze that destroyed
three-fourths of the building on site and started more than 20 spot
fires in the area, Calfire has announced.
Debris gathering around an exhaust pipe of a small tractor caught fire and ignited the Eagle Recycling blaze that destroyed three-fourths of the building on site and started more than 20 spot fires in the area, Calfire has announced.
The fire, which was reported at 5:10 p.m. August 3, took six days before firefighters got the blaze 100 percent contained. Investigators couldn’t begin their work until the fire was completely extinguished.
Firefighters controlled most of the fire by Wednesday morning but the building was still smoldering and smoking until Sunday. The fire continued to spark up throughout the week. During that time, the Eagle Recycling owner worked to remove the recyclables from the site to allow firefighters to have more access to the building.
Three investigators worked a combined 40 hours to determine the blaze’s cause, using witness statements and video surveillance, according to a Calfire statement.
Video surveillance inside the building played a key role in determining the cause, according to a statement from Calfire – which the county contracts with for its local fire services.
Just before closing time, the video caught cardboard and plastic gathering around the exhaust pipe of a Bobcat that was being driven inside the building. The debris, which was caught near the pipe, started to burn and fell from the small tractor.
The burning debris fell into a “bale of soft plastic,” igniting it. Nearly seven minutes passed before workers saw the burning material and called 911. By that time the recyclables were fully under flames.
After calling 911, the employees starting spraying the flames with fire extinguishers but the fire was too hot and strong. When the employees determined they couldn’t quell the fire, they started removing undamaged material and equipment from the building.
Six minutes after the 911 call, firefighters arrived on scene – almost 15 minutes of burning had occurred at that point, according to Calfire.
To stop the blaze from continuing toward Hollister, 75 firefighters, 17 fire engines, three ladder trucks and five water tenders were used to fight the fire.
Before the fire ignited, the owner was working with the Calfire and the San Benito Fire Department to clean up the property because of a backlog of products.
Calfire contends it didn’t have the authority to issue a fire code violation but it did make recommendations to reduce the risk of a fire.
Below, hear a Calfire official discuss the recent blaze.
