The Yuba City Fire Department had more than 100 additional calls for service in July than during the same time period in 2021, its fire chief said Wednesday as firefighters started off August with another structure fire taking place in the city.
From July 1 through July 31, the Yuba City Fire Department responded to 1,050 calls for service, 14 structure fires and 28 vegetation fires, Fire Chief Jesse Alexander said. Of those 14 structure fires, nine were considered “working” fires where at least five apparatus were assigned to fire suppression activities, he said.
In July 2021, the Yuba City Fire Department responded to 924 calls for service and two structure fires.
“Over the last 10 years, we have seen a 46% increase in calls for service (4.6% average increase each year),” Alexander said in an email to the Appeal. “So some of that is just our normal increase in call volume. In regards to the structure fires, sometimes fires just come in waves and this appears to be one of those times. In July 2020, we had five, but in July 2019, we had 10. This year (there) has been a significant amount in a single month, which takes a toll on resources that are working both structure and vegetation fires in the same day – especially during excessive heat advisories.”
At 3:31 a.m. on Wednesday, the Yuba City Fire Department responded to a residential structure fire at 464 Alemar Way. This was the second structure fire that the department has responded to at the address in the past few days. Alexander said a structure fire there occurred on July 26. He said it was “quickly extinguished and the building suffered minor damage during that fire.”
Alexander said the property had remained vacant and boarded up since that fire. Then, early Wednesday morning, the Yuba City Fire Department was dispatched yet again to the same address.
Alexander said when firefighters arrived, they “located heavy fire showing through the roof with multiple exposures threatened.” He said the residence was built in 1928. Because of the “older construction standards,” Alexander said firefighters had the “opportunity to make an aggressive interior attack.”
He said that even though the residence was considered vacant, it still was “fully furnished with a heavy fuel load.” Alexander said that due to the intensity of the fire and the workload, firefighters started running out of self-contained breathing apparatus bottles.
“I want to thank the Yuba City Police Department for graciously assisting with logistical support by responding to Station 7 and bringing our breathing support apparatus to the fire scene,” he said.
No injuries or major damage to the structure occurred because of the fire. Alexander said there was only “minor damage to one exposure” and that the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
