(DailyVantage.com) – The historic pier in Oceanside California has sustained significant damage after a vacant building on the pier caught fire recently.
Photos of the incident show large clouds of thick smoke from one of the buildings on the pier – a vacant restaurant – as flames rage inside. It took several hours before fire authorities declared that the fire was “under control”. Initial response teams were at the site within five minutes after the call was put in, but the size and strength of the blaze eventually saw more than 100 firefighters and personnel from all around San Diego County fighting to extinguish the flames.
“All forward progress on the fire has been stopped,” Oceanside Fire Department division chief Blake Dorse told the press. Firefighters then moved on to what they call the “overhaul phase”, which ensures that there are no hidden fires or embers that could trigger another massive blaze that could threaten the pier, which is considered a historical site and was built in 1888.
Even after 24 hours, firefighters were still finding hotspots in the remains of the charred building. Two rescue boats and four firefighting boats were assigned to patrol the area around the site to ensure that any potential flare up spots could be addressed and put out immediately.
In certain areas, firefighters allowed smaller fires to burn, particularly in harder-to-reach areas of the burnt-out structure, which was made extra precarious for firefighters due a roof collapse caused by the blaze. Later, firefighters managed to cut out certain sections beneath the deck under the restaurant, which allowed water to be sprayed inside while also cutting off still-smoking parts of the deck from other unburnt sections of the pier’s structure.
Authorities are still investigating the cause and origin of the fire, which damaged only around 10% of the historic California pier.
The remaining sections of the pier have also undergone inspections by city engineers, who have deemed the rest of the pier structure as safe. As of press time, however, the pier is still closed to the public.
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