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Medline warehouse blaze
A massive fire destroyed a 1 million-square-foot Medline Industries medical supply warehouse in Tracy, California, and was still burning Friday as health officials warned residents downwind to avoid potentially toxic smoke.
The blaze was reported around 1 p.m. Thursday at 5701 Promontory Parkway and spread rapidly through the facility after firefighters encountered problems with the building’s private fire water system, according to the city of Tracy.
Tracy Fire Department Chief Randall Bradley said Thursday evening, "A million-square-foot fire is an extremely rare fire in the United States," and officials later said the building was fully consumed within about 40 minutes.
Officials said about 120 workers were at the facility when the fire started out of roughly 900 employees assigned to the site, and police reported no injuries.
NBC News reported that the fire started around 1 p.m. Thursday and prompted evacuations at the building and some surrounding warehouses, including a FedEx facility and an Amazon warehouse.
Water, sprinklers, smoke
Fire officials said the blaze began on or near the roof of the warehouse and quickly moved into the building, while NBC News reported crews found "heavy fire" coming from the roof when they arrived.
NBC News said crews were unable to fight the fire from the inside, and that the sprinklers were not operating, while the San Francisco Chronicle reported that neither of the facility’s sprinkler systems appeared to have activated.
Tracy Fire Chief Randall Bradley said, "This is such a unique fire," and Deputy Chief Brian Bagley described the challenge of a warehouse of that size as "a skyscraper laying on its side."
Health officials warned that smoke could pose risks, and San Joaquin County Public Health Officer Dr. Maggie Park said in a statement, "Among the chemicals that were consumed in the Medline fire were an assortment of respiratory irritants, toxic gases, carcinogens, and at least one neurotoxin."
NBC News reported that officials said sparks from the fire started smaller blazes nearby, and that air quality remained a concern as nearby residents were told to remain inside with doors and windows closed.
Robots, hazardous materials, response
Officials said the fire’s impact extended beyond the Medline property as wind-driven embers traveled south and ignited several spot fires, including fires involving pallet storage areas and trailers near a FedEx facility.
“A medical supply warehouse was destroyed after it went up in flames and prompted evacuations of neighboring buildings Thursday afternoon in Tracy”
KTVU reported that there were hundreds of robots inside the facility powered by lithium-ion batteries, and Deputy Fire Chief Brian Bagley said, "That all burned, and the lithium-ion batteries that get destroyed by fire end up causing hydrogen fluoride gas, and that's not good."
The Mercury News reported that a firefighter went by ambulance to a hospital late Thursday night for treatment of back spasms, while Bagley said crews had limited to no water coming out of the hydrants and that the water-pressure reading for the sprinkler system was zero.
NBC Bay Area reported that Tracy’s city manager declared a local state of emergency as around 200 fire personnel combated the fire, and it quoted the city statement that early suppression efforts were hampered by a failure of the building's private fire water system.
The San Francisco Chronicle said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is expected to assist local officials with the investigation, and it reported that the cause of the blaze and the apparent failure of the fire suppression systems remained under investigation Friday.
