STOCKTON, Calif. — Battle-weary firefighters endured a taxing morning on Sunday as they tried to douse a three-alarm fire in Stockton only to have a separate fire pop up during the fight.
Stockton firefighters kicked off a long morning by responding to a fire in the area of Weber and Aurora around 3 a.m.
Firefighters arrived to heavy smoke coming from a vacant three-story commercial building. Authorities said crews battled the fire for about 40 minutes after forcing their way inside. However, the fire was spreading vertically from the first story to the third story, possibly way of a shaft or void space, according to Stockton Firefighters Local 456.
Authorities said the third floor was filled with smoke, fire and flammable gasses, and that the fire accelerated after heat caused the fire to self-ventilate the windows.
Fire crews left the building due to "rapid and excessive change in the fire activity," and changed their strategy to an exterior fire attack as the blaze triggered a third alarm.
As firefighters tried to extinguish the first blaze, they were called to the area of Windsor and Broadway for a separate fire. Crews arrived to a heavily involved single story, single family home. They removed three people from a nearby exposed building and were able to douse the fire without incident.
Crews were able to get help from Manteca Fire Department for this fire.
The first fire in the area of Weber and Aurora ended up taking Stockton fire crews well into the daylight hours.
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