More than 70 Orange County firefighters were battling a stubborn fire at one of two 17-story-high hangars at the former Tustin Air Base early Tuesday morning, Nov. 7, authorities said, a blaze that will lead to the hangar’s demolition.
The cause of the fire — and where it began — were so far unclear.
Fire crews were called to the north hangar in Tustin just before 12:55 a.m. and began attacking the blaze with a defensive strategy from outside the building, Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Thanh Nguyen said.
Firefighters arrived and found the north hangar fully involved in fire, OCFA Chief Brian Fennessy said at a morning news conference.
Fennessy said the fire was expected to stretch across the length of the hangar, which will ultimately need to be demolished.
He said it could take a lengthy amount of time before the fire is out.
“We expect the fire to continue … possibly until it gets to the other side of the hangar, and whether that be the end of the day, tomorrow, whether it stops at some point in between, we don’t know,” Fennessy said. “So at this point we’re standing back, keeping people and firefighters away and we’re watching.”
“The biggest fear is collapse and getting our firefighters injured,” Nguyen said.
A magnet for trespassers, a neglected Navy blimp hangar becomes Tustin’s headache
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Flames were tearing through the roof of the massive structure. There appears to have been a partial roof collapse.
In fact, just before 6:30 a.m., firefighters said they planned to allow the hangar to collapse so that ground crews “can move in closer, and aggressively work to extinguish the fire.”
Due to the dynamic nature of the fire, and the imminent danger of collapse, we have determined the most operationally sound method is to allow the structure to collapse, at which point ground crews can move in closer, and aggressively work to extinguish the fire. pic.twitter.com/SmBl2UahMB
— OCFA PIO (@OCFireAuthority) November 7, 2023
Firefighters at one point received assistance from helicopters, including a Boeing CH-47 Chinook, which can drop up to 3,000 gallons of water, Nguyen said.
“It’s not a regular tactic to use a helicopter for a structure fire, however, this is not a regular fire either,” he said.
“It was felt that perhaps — with our agency helicopter and the large Chinook — it was possible for us to maybe slow it down and maybe get our ladder trucks in close enough to be able to slow it down,” Fennessy said. “That was not the case, so we cancelled them and returned them.”
No injuries were reported and firefighters did not believe anyone to be inside the building when the fire broke out, Nguyen said.
Arson investigators are on the scene.
The fire is in one of two hangars that once housed blimps used in World War II and later provided cover for military helicopters.
The hangars were built in 1942 during World War II, Fennessy said, and are two of the largest wooden structures ever constructed. They were named historic civil engineering landmarks in 1993.
The historic hangars have been featured in television and films, including ”JAG, ” ”The X Files,” ”Austin Powers,” ”Pearl Harbor ” and ”Star Trek.”
Tustin police closed Valencia Avenue between Landsdowne Road and Kensington Park Drive. Armstrong Avenue was closed from Warner to Valencia avenues. Motorists were urged to avoid the area.
Tustin police Chief Stu Greenberg asked anyone with information about the fire or any activity at the hangar in previous days to call police.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
City News Service contributed to this report.
Source: Orange County Register
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