Two people were found dead Monday after a fire broke out inside a utility vault beneath the H Street bridge in downtown Fresno.<\/p>\n
Fresno\u00a0Fire Department Fire Chief\u00a0Billy Alcorn\u00a0said crews arrived after\u00a08 a.m.\u00a0when smoke was reported coming from underneath the bridge.<\/p>\n
He said smoke was coming from a vault that stored major utility infrastructure serving the downtown area. Construction workers at the scene reportedly saw three people leaving the area where the smoke originated before firefighters arrived.<\/p>\n
Alcorn said firefighters initially faced dangerous conditions due to live electrical equipment inside the confined underground space.<\/p>\n
After coordinating with\u00a0PG&E\u00a0and construction crews to shut off power to the vault, rescue teams entered to battle the fire.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce we ensured the utilities were off, that\u2019s when we started to make access,\u201d Alcorn said.<\/p>\n
While extinguishing the flames, firefighters discovered and removed one body from inside the vault.<\/p>\n
During a subsequent primary search, crews located a second victim, who was also pronounced dead at the scene.<\/p>\n
Alcorn said both victims have not yet been identified, though investigators believe the space may have been occupied by members of the unhoused community.<\/p>\n
Alcorn described the underground area as a narrow utility channel stretching roughly 40 feet beneath the overpass.<\/p>\n
Investigators believe people may have gained access by digging through dirt along the side of the bridge embankment rather than using the secured utility entrance.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt appears that people were trying to live inside of that vault,\u201d Alcorn said. \u201cThere was debris, blankets, property, almost livable conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crews continued searching the area Monday afternoon to ensure no additional victims remained inside.<\/p>\n
Firefighters were removing debris and personal belongings from the vault before declaring the scene fully cleared.<\/p>\n
Alcorn said the operation required technical rescue teams because of the hazardous underground conditions, including limited oxygen and the risk of electrical exposure.<\/p>\n
The incident also caused a power outage affecting parts of downtown\u00a0Fresno, including nearby high-rise buildings and hotels.<\/p>\n
Officials said electricity could remain shut off for several hours while crews ensure the fire is completely extinguished and utility equipment is inspected for damage.<\/p>\n
Alcorn said the\u00a0California Highway Patrol\u00a0is leading the law enforcement investigation, while the State Fire Marshal\u2019s Office will oversee the fire investigation.<\/p>\n
Fresno\u00a0police and\u00a0Fresno\u00a0fire officials are assisting.<\/p>\n
Authorities are also working to identify and locate the individuals seen leaving the area before firefighters arrived.<\/p>\n
The investigation remains ongoing.<\/p>\n
\u00a92026 The Fresno Bee. Visit\u00a0fresnobee.com<\/a>. Distributed by\u00a0Tribune Content Agency, LLC.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two people were found dead Monday after a fire broke out inside a utility vault beneath the H…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":312409,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-312408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=312408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/312409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=312408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=312408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=312408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}