On Sunday, April 1, at 10:20 p.m. City of Richmond Engine 23, Quint 22, Quint 17, Quint 20, Rescue 3, Chesterfield Engine 2 (automatic mutual aid) and Battalion 3 were dispatched to the 5600 Block of Hull Street Road for a reported building fire.
Quint 22 arrived on scene first and reported heavy black smoke coming from the Flowers Bakery Building. The fire was in a large one-story masonry building housing a discount bread store in the front and a large office area in the rear. The building also had a long narrow warehouse/loading dock in the middle of the D side with numerous delivery vehicles parked close to the building of origin.
Workers were reportedly inside the building when the fire was discovered, but they were able to safety evacuate.
Companies initially made an aggressive interior attack in heavy smoke conditions, but were forced to evacuate the building after the rear B/C wall separated from the building.
A second alarm was requested at 10:34 p.m. bringing Quint 21, Quint 13 and Rescue 2.
Ladder pipes were put into operation to control the fire and the incident was marked under control at 11:26 p.m.
Companies spent several additional hours on scene extinguishing hot spots. The bread store and office area were totally destroyed, but firefighters were able to keep the fire from spreading into the warehouse/loading dock. This fire remains under investigation.
