FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — After two massive fires in Central Fresno, business owners near Blackstone and McKinley avenues are concerned.
“I’m thinking I’m going to be next,” Art Terzian told Action News.
He and his son run A&T Ceramic Tile near the busy intersection. They say a fire there would be devastating.
“This is our inventory, our livelihood,” Tony said. “We spent a lifetime building this up.”
The Terzians are battling with the city in court.
They have 2,900 pallets of tile still inside after City Hall took control of their property, and at least 16 others ahead of a major project to rework the nearby railroad crossings.
The impacted properties include the former Carl’s Jr., which went up in flames last month, and the Star Stucco Products building that burned on Sunday.
Investigators call the two fires in 12 days suspicious, and they say unhoused people may be tied to at least one of them.
RELATED: Fire burns 2 vacant buildings in Central Fresno near former Carl’s Jr.
“The city has to do a better job of securing the property,” Tony said. “The fence is cut in the back.”
On Tuesday, Action News saw an unauthorized woman on the city-controlled lot.
She claimed her family owned the property, and said she was there to check on it.
“You’re not allowed on the property,” the Terzians told her. “I just came to make sure that nobody was here anymore,” she said.”
She eventually walked away after speaking with the police.
Just Monday, City Manager Georgeanne White told Action News that the city is trying to keep up with constant break-ins.
“We do have PD that is patrolling the area, but there are a lot of buildings, and a lot of opportunities for people to get into buildings,” White said.
The city is now turning to demolition. Crews moved in on Tuesday to tear down the former Taco Bell before it could catch fire.
“I wish we could do them all at once,” White said. “There’s only so many crews that are out there, and so we picked the order of priority, got input from the Fire Department on the ones that would be the hardest fire for them to fight.”
The Terzians remain at odds with the city, and a trial is set for the fall.
Their building is likely to come down somehow, they say, either by an excavator or flames.
“I grew up here,” Tony said. “This is what I did for all my life, since I was 15 years old. This is my livelihood. This is all I know.”
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