Arcata Fire District press release:

 

April 4, 2018 at10:14PM, Arcata Fire District was called to a reported structure fire at the Alibi on the Plaza. Engine 8215 out of the Arcata Fire Station arrived on scene within minutes of receiving the call and reported that evacuations were in progress. They made contact with the manager of the Alibi who stated that the fire was in the wall. Fire Captain Lillard and his crew located the Fire in the exterior wall in front of the business. The crew made an aggressive attack by cutting open the wall and extinguishing the small fire. Engine 8211 from the Mad River Station and Battalion Chief Gomes arrived shortly after and assisted with checking for fire that may have extended into the Sidelines Bar. No extension was found and the fire was contained to the wall of the Alibi, however, it appeared that the fire had been burning in the wall for some time. After contacting the security guard from the Sidelines, it was learned that a cigarette was found stuck in a small hole in the exterior siding.

The fire loss was minimal, with an estimated loss off $5000 in damage to the building. Battalion Chief Gomes reports, “The fire was discovered very early and quickly extinguished, although the outcome would have been very different if the fire would have gone unnoticed.” The combination of the two factors helped to save a two million dollar building, not including the attached adjacent building that could have been involved as well.

Due to the location of the incident, several neighboring agencies were initially dispatched to assist; Humboldt Bay Fire, Cal Fire, and Blue Lake Fire, although cancelled being that the fire was extinguished quickly. The Cal Fire engine that was dispatched, covered the McKinleyville Station while the Arcata Fire units finished cleanup and investigation at the Alibi.

Arcata Fire District would like to remind people to fully extinguish cigarettes and place them in the proper disposal receptacle.