By FireRescue1 Staff
OROVILLE, Calif. — A fire station suffered significant damage after its office caught fire Tuesday evening.
An officer patrolling the area noticed black smoke rising from the Mooretown Rancheria Fire Department’s station, reported Chico ER. The officer used a nearby fire extinguisher and notified 911.
The office, which is the size of a double-wide trailer, is considered a total loss. Computers, radio equipment and training materials inside were also destroyed.
“We’re all OK,” Chief Ray Ruiz said. “We’re bummed about what happened. It’s almost like somebody coming in your house and ripping you off. You feel like you’ve been violated. That’s the way we feel, too. This is not supposed to happen in a fire station.”
Also damaged in the fire were training materials for fire courses the department had scheduled for March.
“It’s going to hurt us,” Chief Ruiz said. “It is going to affect our ability to respond or perform to a certain degree. But for the most part, all our other equipment is intact. So we’ll still be able to perform.
Officials are investigating the fire.