Investigators believe cause was unattended flame, trespassers
had used structure
A fire over the weekend seriously damaged one historic
structure, while local firefighters prevented another
long-cherished building from going up in flames.
Investigators believe cause was unattended flame, trespassers had used structure
A fire over the weekend seriously damaged one historic structure, while local firefighters prevented another long-cherished building from going up in flames.
Sunday’s blaze at the former San Benito Hotel building caused a “substantial loss” to the north end of the downtown structure.
Fire investigators believe an unattended flame caused the blaze, but there were no signs it was intentional, Fire Chief Fred Cheshire said.
The fire chief did note, however, that it appears people had been going “in and out” of the former hotel’s building who were likely trespassing and not associated with its owner.
“There were signs people had been in and out of there,” he said.
In years past, the building housed the hotel on the second floor and a bar on the first, but neither was actively in use and they should not have been occupied, Cheshire said. The San Benito Hotel closed last year when its owner passed away.
Crews took two hours to get control of the stubborn fire after getting a 3:19 p.m. call about the blaze. It took about two hours to control the fire because it is an “older building” and firefighters had difficulty busting through certain materials to extinguish any flames in the walls, he said, calling the response “labor intensive.”
Two firefighters were treated for minor injuries, and one was transported to Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital for a severe ankle sprain sustained while battling the fire from the roof, Cheshire said.
Although fire crews had difficulty containing the blaze at the former hotel because it had progressed quickly to the attic before they arrived, local responders were successful in preventing the flames from spreading to the neighboring Masonic Lodge at the corner of Fourth and San Benito streets, the fire chief said.
Fire officials believe it started on the ground floor but by the time crews had arrived, the blaze had reached the attic space above the second floor, Cheshire said.
“We had to kind of chase it down,” he said.
Cheshire in recalling the fire noted how firefighters entered the building to battle the blaze on the second floor while others were on the roof to provide ventilation.
He pointed out how a primary focus was to prevent further spreading to the Masonic Lodge.
“One of our main concerns was to contain the fire to the building of origin and not let it go beyond that,” he said.
Its history, and saving it, offered an added motivation.
“I consider the Masonic temple an icon of our community,” he said.
It was too late, however, to also save the historic San Benito Hotel building.
Cheshire noted how investigators later found that the second floor had become structurally unstable and prone to potential collapse, but there were no injuries beyond the two firefighters treated.
Hollister firefighters were aided by the Gilroy Fire Department and the San Benito County Fire Department, Cheshire noted.
