Firefighter hurt in million-dollar Garden Grove blaze
Posted by Debbie L. Sklar on September 27, 2016
A three-alarm fire at a vehicle repair and maintenance business in Garden Grove did more than $1 million in damage, prompted a hazardous materials response for leaking fuel and sent a firefighter to a hospital for treatment of heat exhaustion. Photo via OnScene.TV.
A three-alarm fire at a vehicle repair and maintenance business in Garden Grove did more than $1 million in damage, prompted a hazardous materials response for leaking fuel and sent a firefighter to a hospital for treatment of heat exhaustion.
The blaze was reported Monday afternoon at Pacific R.V. Body & Paint, which does maintenance and repair work on motor homes, recreational vehicles and the like, according to Capt. Thanh Nguyen of the Garden Grove Fire Department.
About 50 firefighters were dispatched to the business at 13731 Harbor Blvd., near Westminster Avenue, including an Orange County Fire Authority hazmat team summoned because of leaking gasoline from a ruptured tank, Nguyen said.
Arriving firefighters, who dealt with temperatures over 100 degrees, encountered two burning motor homes and the heat from the fire caused the flames to spread to two additional motor homes, according to Nguyen.
“Firefighters made an attack on the fire to prevent its extension into additional vehicles and structures,” Nguyen said.
There were no explosions, however, and the fire was knocked down in just over an hour, Nguyen said. The cause was under investigation.
A hazmat crew from the Orange County Health Care Agency also responded to the scene to help coordinate the clean-up, he said. Crews from the Anaheim and Orange fire departments also lent assistance.
An update on the stricken firefighter’s condition was not immediately available.
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Fire causes $1 million in damage at Garden Grove business
Sept. 26, 2016
Updated 9:05 p.m.
Garden Grove firefighters extinguish a blaze that engulfed multiple RVs at a business around 2 p.m. in Garden Grove on Monday. The fire was reported at Pacific RV Paint, Inc. on Harbor Boulevard, where firefighters found three fully engulfed vehicles, said Capt. Thanh Nguyen of the Garden Grove Fire Department. (Photo by Brentt Sporn) By ALMA FAUSTO / STAFF WRITER
GARDEN GROVE - It took 50 firefighters and more than one hour to extinguish a blaze that engulfed a number of RVs at a business in Garden Grove on Monday afternoon, authorities said.
The fire caused more than $1 million worth of damage, said Capt. Thanh Nguyen of the Garden Grove Fire Department. One firefighter was taken to a hospital for heat exhaustion, he added.
Around 2 p.m., a fire was reported at Pacific RV Paint, Inc. on Harbor Boulevard, where firefighters found three fully engulfed vehicles, said Nguyen.
It was unclear what started the blaze, but it spread from the vehicles into a nearby building, prompting more resources to be summoned to the scene.
A HazMat crew went to the scene after gasoline and propane tanks ruptured, adding fuel to the fire.
“One of the biggest challenges right now is the temperatures and wearing safety gear,” Nguyen said of Monday’s high temperatures.
Health officials were also called out to evaluate the safety of the scene.
The fire was extinguished shortly after 3 p.m. Southbound Harbor Boulevard was shut down between Trask and Westminster avenues for a while while crews evaluated the safety of the HazMat situation. It has since been reopened.
Investigators were still working to determine what sparked the fire.