Business building roof burns
A fire destroyed the roof of a business building in Ukiah Thursday night, the Ukiah Valley Fire Authority reported.
Firefighters were dispatched to 1101 S. Dora St. at 11:06 p.m. May 19, and UVFA Battalion Chief Eric Singleton said when crews arrived they saw the structure was already “well-involved” with fire. Singleton said crews initially tried to enter the building, but quickly changed tactics due to the danger and took a defensive stance instead, remaining outside and focusing on keeping the fire from spreading to any other properties.
“The crews did an amazing job keeping the fire to that first building,” said Singleton, explaining that the occupants of three nearby homes were evacuated during the fire just in case, but were all allowed to return to their residences.
The fire destroyed the roof of the building, which housed the now-closed Norcal Skin Disease And Surgery center, located at the corner of Observatory Avenue and South Dora Street. There were no injuries reported.
As to the cause of the fire, Singleton said it appears to be a “human-caused fire, as all other causes have been ruled out,” and while he could not at this point declare it arson, he did describe it as “negligent and/or reckless.”
Singleton said the fire started on the outside of the building, and there were signs of people camping there. And while he was not certain of any surveillance footage being acquired yet, he said that the Ukiah Police Department was going door-todoor to ask if any of the neighbors had cameras that might have recorded any activities related to the fire.
Since the fire did not destroy the building, Singleton said crews will be checking the site of the fire periodically over the next couple of days to make sure there are no remaining “hot spots” and that the building is not otherwise unsafe.
Firefighters from Cal Fire and the Redwood Valleycalpella Fire Department also responded, including a crew from Redwood Valley that “just happened to be in quarters and could respond very quickly, which helped a great deal.”