FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) — The Fresno Fire Department is now investigating two separate fires happening just days apart in the same area.
The first, happening on January 28th, on McKinley and Blackstone avenues, burned down the Carls Jr. building.
The second incident was on Sunday, when another building caught fire at the same intersection.
Two fires, igniting just feet apart, only 12 days apart, in the same area where the grade separation project is set to be located.
The city of Fresno already had plans to demolish the buildings for the project, but did not have a timeline
“No date because this is the government, and we have to go through our procurement process and make sure everything’s transparent,” said Nelson Esparza, Fresno City Councilmember.
For our accountability question, I asked if these back-to-back fires are speeding up the process of demolishing the vacant structures.
“After the Carls Jr. fire, we did look at some creative ways to expedite those contracts for demolition. Unfortunately, while that was occurring, we saw the second fire happen, but the demolitions at that point by the time the second fire happened, the demolitions were already, you know, queuing up and in progress,” said Esparza.
The causes of both fires are still under investigation.
The Fresno Fire Department, however, does speculate that it could have started from a warming fire.
“People find shelter as quick you know as soon as they can, especially during these cold months,” said Billy Alcorn, Fire Chief for the Fresno Fire Department.
The Fresno Fire Department says that with vacant buildings being a hot spot for fires, speeding up the demolition process lifts a weight off their shoulders.
“I mean, it really comes down to it’s probably one less concern that we have to have one that, once that building’s on the ground,” said Alcorn.
The city says buildings with fencing and boarded-up windows will be demolished in the next few weeks.