By Ted Vollmer and Jessica A. York
The Vallejo Times Herald
VALLEJO, Calif. — A three-alarm blaze that began early today when someone threw a fiery object through a window into the Vallejo Solano County Courthouse records room destroyed thousands of criminal files, officials said today.
The fire’s aftermath resulted in the courthouse being closed for at least a day.
The blaze began in the same area that a bomb was ignited in January 1997, by friends of a drug suspect to thwart his prosecution, Vallejo Fire Chief Doug Robertson said.
A smoke detector signaled the fire department at 4:04 a.m. and the first units from the department’s Louisiana and Marin street station arrived four minutes later, Robertson said. A patrolling police officer also spotted the flames and reported the fire, officials said. The blaze was contained in 45 minutes and finally extinguished 45 minutes after that, he said.
Damaged or destroyed were the office of criminal investigation and incoming criminal files, said Solano County Sheriff’s public information officer Gary Faulkner. It was not immediately known if copies of destroyed documents existed.
Fire investigator Bill Tweedy told reporters during a mid-morning news conference, “The building was locked, the fire was started from the outside” when an object was sent through the window.
“After another four or five minutes, at the rate it was burning, it could have been a devastating fire for the county,” Tweedy said.
No one was injured.
Robertson said fire and water damage was confined mostly to a small portion of the 5,000 square foot records room that lacked a sprinkler system. He said other parts of the building had sprinklers, but not the records room because it was not required at the time it was built.
The fire forced the closure of the courthouse today, and possibly longer, said Faulkner. He said about 60 full-time employees including judges work in the building and about 140 prospective jurors had been expected to report for duty.
Robertson said fire, water and smoke damage, combined with the investigation, required the courthouse’s temporary closure although court officials said some employees may be permitted in later today.
Those with business at the courthouse were asked to call (707) 207-7475 for further instructions.
One of those, Vallejo attorney Parker Taft, showed up and was told on the courthouse steps that closing arguments in a civil trial he was involved in would be delayed.
Chief Robertson said that while the flames were confined to the records room, the fire was elevated to a second alarm due to the sensitivity of the courthouse and its contents.
A third alarm was called to salvage any contents threatened by the fire and efforts to contain it, Robertson said.
Four street-facing windows were shattered, but it was unclear how many were due to the fire-fighting efforts or from the source of the blaze.
The fire began in the same area where friends of Kevin Lee Robinson, 30, set off a bomb in January 1997, presumably to destroy evidence against him. They also set off a bomb at an automated teller machine.
Police believe that Robinson orchestrated the caper and had the bombs placed to thwart his prosecution on drug charges. He was subsequently convicted, however, and in February 1998, received a 110-year prison term.
That courthouse explosion blew out nearly two dozen windows, destroyed part of a wall and damaged several nearby businesses.