By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen
Vallejo Times Herald
VALLEJO, Calif. — Vallejo firefighters had to rely on help from other cities early Wednesday, as two blazes erupted less than 20 minutes apart.
The first call came in just before 2 a.m. reporting the former Vallejo Music Academy building at 1053 Amador St. was burning, Vallejo Fire Department spokesman Arthur Gonzales said.
“The building was vacant and under renovation, so nothing but some contractors’ tools and equipment was inside,” Gonzales said. “The second floor, the attic and the roof, to the rear of the building, was well involved upon our arrival.”
The blaze went to two alarms, triggering mutual aid from Benicia, Suisun City, Fairfield, Cordelia, Crockett and Travis Air Force Base fire department, he said.
The fire was contained within about an hour and a half and no other structures were threatened, Gonzales said.
“The building is probably a total loss,” he said.
The fire is considered “suspicious in nature” and its cause is under investigation, he said.
About 18 minutes after the first fire’s outbreak, another fire was reported in the 3400 block of Sonoma Boulevard that also went to two alarms, Battalion Chief Pat Dunn said.
Only one Vallejo fire truck was available for the second fire, the other responders were from mutual aid, Dunn said.
A firefighter at the scene said the second blaze seems to have started in a back storage area of the Peace Baptist Church, and that fire damage was limited to that area, though the rest of the church and the adjacent Sign-A-Rama store suffered smoke damage.
“We got a call about 2:53 in the morning and we ran out there,” Sign-A-Rama owner Terri Abad said. “The Fire Department was great. They explained everything to us, why all the engines were there from other cities, and offered us water.”
Once power is restored and the smoke damage cleaned up, the business will reopen, she said. “Probably a couple of days,’” she said.
The fire was contained in about 30 minutes, said a firefighter on the scene. The cause is under investigation.
Copyright 2012 The Times-Herald