If you know a firefighter who was on duty Monday, tell him to
get some sleep. Two fires early Monday morning kept the guys in the
big red trucks hopping.
Hollister – If you know a firefighter who was on duty Monday, tell him to get some sleep. Two fires early Monday morning kept the guys in the big red trucks hopping.
A fire at Bertuccio’s produce stand on Airline Highway, and a water heater fire a few hours later at the labor camp on Nash Road, destroyed several structures. No one was injured, although a family of six living at the labor camp is being assisted by Red Cross officials after being displaced from their home, fire officials said.
Just before midnight city firefighters received a call of a grass fire at the corner of Union Road and Airline Highway a stone’s throw from the new fire station on Union Road, said Capt. Charlie Bedolla.
The fire turned out to be two unoccupied trailers and two trucks fully engulfed in flames.
The trailers, which had been home to several farm workers employed by Bertuccio Farms who had moved out Sunday, were completely destroyed. It took about 30 firefighters from Hollister, San Benito County and the California Department of Forestry about an hour to contain the blaze, Bedolla said.
Disaster was avoided by the firefighters’ quick response, said farmer Joe Tonascia, who works with Bertuccio Farms.
“Nothing major happened, just a lot of action,” Tonascia said. “Other buildings were threatened, but they got there so fast. And most of (the workers’) stuff was already gone – that’s the good part. We didn’t have any loss of life or of their belongings.”
CDF investigator Curt Itson said the fire most likely began when a portable heater was left too close to a mattress. It caused about $50,000 worth of damage and has been ruled an accident.
Just before 9am firefighters were again called out, this time to a water heater fire at a labor camp in the 1500 block of Nash Road.
Theresa Roman, a resident of one of the duplexes at the camp, was bathing her three small children when she heard a noise at the other end of the house in the laundry room, she said through a Spanish interpreter.
By the time she got to the other side of the house, flames were pouring out of the room and her neighbors were already on hand with fire extinguishers and on the phone with 911, she said.
After firefighters arrived and extinguished the fire, which took about 40 minutes, it was determined that a pile of clothes and other flammable items were stacked too close to a water heater, Itson said.
“Hot stuff next to stuff that will burn. It’s a common thing, sadly,” Itson said. “But it’s a bread and butter fire for us. The upside is that it’s not two in the morning.”
The fire caused about $20,000 worth of damage and completely destroyed the laundry room, but didn’t affect the rest of the house. Because the gas and electricity had to be turned off, the family will not be able to return to their home until the laundry room is rebuilt and the utilities are restored, Itson said.
In the meantime, Red Cross volunteers of the San Benito/Monterey chapter arrived to assist the family and give them a place to stay, Itson said.
The fires came just one week after another major fire on Valley View Road destroyed a carport and several cars at an apartment complex. Law enforcement believe someone intentionally set one of the cars on fire, which ignited the entire 150-foot structure and threatened several apartment complexes.
Hollister police are still searching for a person witnesses saw flee the scene of that fire just minutes before the blaze, according to spokesman George Ramirez.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
