Arcata Fire Protection District press release:

At approximately 1:00 a.m. today, Arcata Fire Protection District personnel responded to a commercial structure fire at 4700 West End Road. The structure fire was located at the Humboldt Flake Board building that has not been active for several years.

When crews first arrived on scene they found moderate smoke and a heavy glow coming from the windows and holes on the third and fourth level of the south west corner of the old plant building. Due to a mandate that was ordered by Chief Cowan, the building was deemed unsafe for interior fire attack. “I established the mandate over a year ago when the owners started demolition work on the building.” explained Chief Cowan.

The crews took a defensive stance by surrounding the building and used large diameter hose, a ground mount monitor and deck guns on the engines to extinguish the fire. “We attacked the fire for approximately 20 minutes before we finally got it under control.” said Assistant Chief Justin McDonald. At approximately 4:30 a.m. the fire appeared to be extinguished and resources started clearing the scene. At 8:30 a.m. AFPD firefighters returned to the scene as ordered by Chief McDonald to check on the fire. They reported that there was smoke coming from the structure again. Crews are currently working with the owner of the building to develop a plan to safely enter the building and extinguish the fire. The cause of the fire is currently unknown, but is under investigation.

AFPD fought this fire with four engines, one water tender, one truck, and two Chief Officers. Mutual aid was called and Blue Lake Fire District provided one engine and Humboldt Bay Fire provided an engine to help with coverage in the Arcata Fire District. With the assistance of neighboring fire departments, there were approximately 20 fire personnel on scene fighting the fire.

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For more information about the Arcata Fire Protection District visit www.arcatafire.org or follow us on /ArcataFire & /ArcataFire