A fast-moving three-alarm fire Friday in southeast Fresno destroyed five vacant warehouse buildings and sent a plume of smoke billowing hundreds of feet into the midafternoon sky.
It took more than 40 firefighters close to an hour to get the fire at Maple and Turner avenues under control.
There were no injuries, but the buildings burned to the ground.
When firefighters arrived after receiving a call at 2:05 p.m., they could not enter the buildings, which were filled with smoke and with fire licking out. The buildings were collapsing as firefighters arrived.
"The fire got very big, very fast," said department spokesman Koby Johns.
The cause of the fire was not known Friday afternoon and no damage estimate was available.
He said the buildings were wood-framed with aluminum walls and that the wood was extremely dry.
The warehouses were in the middle of a residential area, and firefighters considered evacuating residents.
No neighboring homes were affected by the fire, but the intense heat melted a trash container in front of a Turner Avenue home across the street.
Because of the number of firefighters battling the blaze, the Fresno City Fire Department had to suspend medical-aid calls for a short time during the initial stages of the fire, Johns said.
The warehouses covered 10,000 to 20,000 square feet and appeared to have few items inside, Johns said.
The buildings were once part of a box plant operated by American Forest Products' manufacturing division. Neighbors said the plant closed about 20 years ago.
A nearby resident who identified himself only as Cisco said people were working in the warehouses Friday but left about 45 minutes before firefighters were called.
He said neighbors were told that the property was being restored as a farmers market.
Copyright 2012 - The Fresno Bee
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
