At 5:15 pm Tuesday, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District responded to a fire at one of their fire stations after a homeless encampment caught fire and extended to the fire station in the City of Antioch.
Station 81, located at 315 W 10th Street, was briefly on fire after firefighters were returning to the station after a service call when they got the report of a fire at the station and located a column of smoke. This was a result of homeless in the area who had been in the area for several months including trailers and tents.
According to Battalion Chief Scott Valencia, he explained as firefighters returned back to the station and saw the column of black smoke. This is when they located a large fire at a homeless encampment that was on fire adjacent to the fire station and another city owned resource building next door also on fire.
“The homeless encampment was fully engulfed in flames and caught the carport and fire station on fire,” said Valencia who added that the homeless encampment was approximately 10 feet away from the fire station and the area of the station which caught fire was the dorm area.
According to CONFIRE, the homeless encampment adjacent to Station 81 has been a problem in the past and ongoing.
Earlier in the day, Antioch Police was called to deal with the homeless woman who attempted to break into the station earlier in the day, however, its unknown if they made contact with the female or not.
By 5:23 pm, the fire was knocked down and under control and requested five sheets of plywood for board up. It is also unknown if the fire was accidental in nature or intentional arson.
CONFIRE is still investigating the fire while noting several fires recently have been on going for months including along the railroad tracks as well as being a problem throughout Contra Costa County.
7 comments
We have to stop using the term “Homeless” incorrectly. If you visit these places you find that the occupants are not homeless, they are drug addicts and the mentally ill. Allowing people to live in open air drug dens is cruel and inhumane. By allowing this behavior to continue, we encourage more of it and we are a part of the problem. Visit UN Plaza in San Francisco to see what doing nothing about a problem results in. Address the problem, CLEAR OUT THE CAMPS, enforce the law. STOP using the term homeless incorrectly.
Profile much? I know a few people who lost their jobs and homes during this time. They are now HOMELESS. They are not addicts or alcoholics. Not very fair to label them all the same.
Amen!
There’s room for some truth on both sides of the issue. Nonetheless, the so-called “homeless problem” is primarily one of mental illness and substance abuse – not economic causes.
While you have a point Simon the type of people you reference are a very small percentage of the problem and most of those people will “work” to get off the street. Andy’s point is valid and should be addressed.
I have a friend who has been homeless for a while. Wages are too low, rents too high so she’s having a hard time getting back on her feet. She lives in a homeless shelter in Menlo Park and has said it was nice…at first. Now the drug users and the mentally ill have taken it over, they do whatever they want with little consequence. The people who run it are scared and refuse to do anything about the stealing of supplies, the damage they cause or the drug dealing and prostitution that goes on at night. All she wants is a chance to get back on her feet in a safe place, that is proving to be almost impossible.
Have you ever heard of a Fire Marshal Inspection? This doesn’t look good when they can’t even marshal the surrounding area of the fire station correctly. I witnessed our local Fire Station in Antioch surrounded with pine trees and mounds of pine needles inches deep. One cigarette is all it takes
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