Press release from Humboldt Bay Fire:

At approximately 6:15 pm on Wednesday, December 25th, Humboldt Bay Fire (HBF) was dispatched to a reported structure fire on the 3000 block of Jacobs Ave. HBF responded with a first alarm assignment consisting of three fire engines, one ladder truck and a Battalion Chief.

The Battalion Chief arrived on scene first and reported a working fire with black smoke visible from the building, reported missing occupants, and access problems and thus, requested more assistance from neighboring Fire Departments requesting a second and third alarm. Battalion 8104 removed one female trapped by smoke in an office adjacent to the fire building that was becoming overwhelmed with smoke.

Truck 8181 arrived at scene and began to open up the structure and search for occupants. E8115 and E8114 arrived on scene and established a water supply while E8112 began attacking the fire. E8115 located an occupant who had burn injuries and removed him from the structure, transferring medical care to City Ambulance at scene. He was transported to the hospital for medical care. The rest of the structure was confirmed to have no other trapped victims.

Fire control was achieved in approximately 20 minutes. The pre-fire value of the structure was approximately 1.5 million dollars with estimated fire loss totaling $90,000. Fire crews did an excellent job protecting the majority of the interior of the building and contents through aggressive fire attack and salvage work. PG&E responded to the scene and secured the gas and electrical service from the building.The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Humboldt Bay Fire would like to thank our mutual aid partners from City Ambulance, Arcata Fire, Samoa Fire, Loleta Fire, and Blue Lake Fire along with the Eureka Police Department and PG&E who all assisted in either the direct fire suppression efforts or providing coverage for the rest of the emergency calls in our area while the fire was being mitigated.

Humboldt Bay Fire would like to remind everyone that smoke detectors save lives! Smoke detectors give you crucial early warning that there may be a fire in your home or business and allots you time to escape. Once you’ve exited a home go to your family meeting place and ensure that everyone has made it out.