By Rick Hurd
East Bay Times
OAKLEY, Calif. — Fire crews put out a two-alarm fire at a tire business on Main Street early Wednesday and narrowly averted a disaster while doing so, a fire official said.
A train on the a BNSF track roared by just as crews moved themselves and equipment off the track as they battled the fire in the 3900 block of Main Street, Battalion Chief Ross Macumber, a spokesman for the East Contra Costa County Fire Protection District said. Firefighters responded to the blaze around 2:15 a.m.
“We do not know what happened with respect to the train, but it was a near-miss,” Macumber said. “Anytime any agency in this county is working a fire near tracks, we automatically call the track dispatchers and request that those tracks be shut down. About 2-3 hours into this incident, all of a sudden a train comes by, and it came at a high rate of speed.”
The train passed on one of two tracks that runs behind the business, Macumber said. Firefighters saw a light in the distance that briefly disappeared, than reappeared along with a whistle, he said.
“Our guys got away, but it was a very scary situation,” he said. “We will be looking into it and investigating what happened immediately.”
The fire gutted the business, which was part of a strip mall, Macumber said. A second business also received fire damage, and two other businesses were damaged by smoke.
There were no injuries.
Police closed Main Street between 7th Street and Rose Avenue, and was expected to stay that way until at least noon. Firefighters remained at the business late Wednesday morning monitoring hot spots and cleaning up.
Attempts to reach BNSF were not successful immediately.
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