FIRE PUT OUT NEAR HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT
Access to area is difficult, but no injuries to civilians or fire personnel
A fire near the end of Redwood Street was put out by Vallejo firefighters Friday morning, saving a homeless encampment.
The single-alarm vehicle fire behind 400 Redwood Street spread to a couple of tents near the encampment, but saw no damage to any structures. There were no injuries.
According to Vallejo firefighter and spokesperson Kevin Brown, the first report of the blaze was at 10:23 a.m. and by 10:42 a.m. the fire was knocked back and contained to the origin.
Brown said he didn't know the exact location of where the vehicle was in the overall encampment, but said “the early
determination is that the gated access next to 400 Redwood was the most appropriate access point.”
The encampment stretches all the way to State Route 37.
“The fire presented access issues for our apparatus, creating delays in the fire attack,” Brown said. “Due to only being able to use extinguishers to initiate fire attack, the vehicle was allowed to burn while the threatened homeless encampment was protected.
“We have quite a few calls that we run in this very large encampment,” Brown continued. “So, we've identified `best access' routes depending on what area of the encampment we want to get to.”
The blaze came just two days after residents from a
“The fire presented access issues for our apparatus, creating delays in the fire attack,” Brown said. “Due to only being able to use extinguishers to initiate fire attack, the vehicle was allowed to burn while the threatened homeless encampment was protected...” — Kevin Brown, Vallejo firefighter
homeless encampment on Enterprise Street in the White Slough neighborhood in Vallejo was moved. This came due to a property and debris removal to make room for a Bay Trail/Vine Trail Gap Closure Project that was voted on by the Vallejo City Council 7-0 in mid July.
That vote authorized City Manager Mike Malone to award a $10.5 million construction contract to Azul Works, Inc. Construction for the trail in the area begins on Monday, according to Assistant to the City Manager, Natalie Peterson.
This was one of the first fires of the year in Vallejo, but according to Brown, the fire department received 18,061 total calls in 2023.