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The unthinkable has a way of happening. Last night a fire started in the apartment above Gallery Books on Main Street. The tenant was burned but is stable. The bookstore sustained damage. Don't know yet how soon they'll recover and re-open. I'll post an update when we do know. A selection of photos of Tuesday night's two-alarm fire in the Gallery Bookshop building in Mendocino is now on my website at www.nwilsonphoto.com MVFD Fire Chief Danny Hervilla said the cause of the fire was accidental. Chiropractor Marcus Strutz, in whose residence and office the fire broke out, was taken to the UC Davis Burn Center for treatment of burns on his face and hands. He was expected to be released from there on Wednesday, Hervilla said. Although Gallery Bookshop had significant water or smoke damage to parts of its inventory, the store remains open for business during repairs. The original entrance on Kasten Street is in use for the time being. Please stop by and show them your support and encouragement. Christie Olson Day and her staff are a really nice bunch of people who know their books, and Mendocino is very lucky to have such a great independent bookstore. You might even find some slightly smoky books on sale. Also please support our local firefighters and thank them for doing a great job of saving the historic building, which dates from before 1880. Chief Hervilla said 21 Mendocino volunteers on the scene were given mutual aid by two engines and eight firefighters from the Fort Bragg Fire Dept.� Fort Bragg also sent a mobile air supply unit to replenish the portable air tanks which the firefighters depended on for breathing inside the smoke-filled building. Although the fire was mostly controlled by midnight and some firefighters were released, Hervilla said he and some of the firefighters worked most of the night to make sure the fire was fully extinguished and the scene secured before leaving the scene at 5:30 AM. Firefighters were able to enter the bookshop early in the incident to place tarps over some of the shelves and protect much of the stock from water damage from above. Asst. Fire Chief Ed O'Brien, who lives about a block from the scene, was the Incident Commander initially, until Chief Hervilla and Asst. Chief Jovan Jelic arrived to share command duties. The first alarm sounded about 10 PM, and a second alarm was given several minutes later to summon all available firefighters. There were nine fire engines on the scene at the peak, including the two from Fort Bragg. Hervilla said that Cal-Fire, formerly known as CDF, has no local fire fighting staff at this time of year. The Sherriff's Office assisted in investigation of the fire, and CHP provided traffic control. Most of the damage to the building was on the second floor and the attic. The fire burned through a wall separating the east and west portions of the second floor. Flames were spotted coming through the roof by Suzy Long, an artist whose studio and residence occupy a converted water tower on the Albion Street side of the property. She said the fire was first reported by Roberta Whiteside, who lives in another second floor apartment behind and attached to the main building. Ward Ryan, who has the upstairs apartment overlooking the corner of Main and Kasten, was reportedly out of town. A jewelry studio in the northwest corner of the upstairs was also damaged. Firefighters had to cut openings in the roof to gain access to the attic, which the fire had spread to. Because several buildings in the complex bounded by Main, Kasten and Albion Streets have shared walls, Chief Hervilla said it's a good thing that fire crews arrived when they did, because if they hadn't been able to contain the fire and it had spread to the whole building, it might have taken out many of the surrounding buildings as well. Hervilla was happy to report that no firefighters were injured in the incident, but they were very grimy and exhausted by the time the incident was over. Remember, none of these fine men and women volunteers are paid, and all have regular jobs and businesses to attend to. We are so lucky to have such dedicated, well-trained and community spirited people in our midst. As a historical footnote, Chief Hervilla said the old building played an important role in determining equipment purchased by the fire department over 120 years ago. In 1887 they ordered a hand pumper with the proviso that it had to be able to shoot water over the top of the flagpole atop the Jarvis-Nichols building, as it was then known. The first apparatus delivered failed the test, and was rejected. It was then replaced by the now-antique hand pumper which the department still proudly displays during July 4 parades, fire department open houses and such events. Hervilla pointed out that the antique pumper was never a horse drawn wagon, as some believe -- it was pulled to fire scenes by the same firemen who then supplied muscle power to operate the pump. Back |
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