Investigation into fire continues as crews assess building safety at the Empire Theatre
Authorities are investigating a fire that broke out Friday morning at the historic Stockton Empire Theatre. No injuries have been reported, but the cause of the fire is still unknown.
Firefighters responded to the Miracle Mile building around 5 a.m. after smoke was reported to be coming out of the theater’s building.
As firefighters entered the theater, they met a full charge of smoke. They went in to attack the fire, encountered obstructions and rerouted to another side of the building.
“The conditions started changing pretty rapidly,” said Deputy Chief Shannon Lewis.
The fire was mostly at the Empire Theatre and “there’s a little bit of water damage on the extending buildings,” Lewis confirmed.
The theater is “heavily damaged on the inside,” he said. “The roof has come down on it, and we are going to keep some crews out here most of the day just to make sure it (the fire) doesn’t start up again.”
City workers and PG&E were onsite late Friday morning as safety assessments continued. PG&E turned off power lines in the area to protect crews at the scene as the investigation was carried out.
About 100 customers were out of power and “as soon as we feel it’s safe to turn it on, we’ll let them (PG&E) turn it on,” Lewis said.
Firefighters had attended another call two hours earlier Friday morning, “so it was a busy night for them,” he said.
Given the difficulties and age of the building, “the crews did a really good job in protecting everything around it,” he added. “They kept it from extending beyond the Empire Theatre, they did an amazing job.”
Though Lewis was clear about the dangers of the building, crews kept working on cleaning up the interior of the building while city employees helped with the shattered glass and charred remains on the front sidewalk.
“The west wall is starting to lean in, so we’ve got code enforcement to monitor that and see, work with us on what we need to do,” Lewis added.
At 10 a.m. a burnt smell still lingered around the scene, five hours after firemen responded to the call. As cleanup continued, the scent was reduced to a light whiff.
As of 11 a.m. the section of Pacific Avenue between Maple and Walnut streets remained closed. Residential traffic near the theater was limited, with a section of Concord Avenue sectioned off where city and county agencies continued to assess the building’s damage.