Massive fire engulfs Medline warehouse in Tracy

TRACY, Calif. - Flames tore through a warehouse and neighboring facility in Tracy on Thursday afternoon, sending thick black smoke billowing into the sky.

Crews remain at the scene late into the evening and are expected to remain at the site for days, fire officials said. The city manager of Tracy has declared a local state of emergency. 

Air quality is being monitored, but the South San Joaquin County Fire Authority chief said no protective action is required at this point.  

Firefighters responded to a structure fire at a Medline warehouse in the 5700 block of Promontory Parkway. Medline is a major distributor of medical supplies.

Building fully engulfed, nearby facilities evacuated

What we know:

At 1:41 p.m., Tracy police said officers were assisting with evacuations and directing traffic in the area.

Tracy Police Sgt. Michael Richards said the warehouse was fully engulfed in flames. Fire officials said it only took 30 to 40 minutes for that to happen. Richards said the site has flammable materials inside, but could not elaborate on what those were.

The one-million square-foot Medline building was evacuated, along with several nearby facilities, including a FedEx building where flames could be seen spreading toward the property. 

In an update, South County fire said an additional fire broke out at the FedEx warehouse and that big-rig trailers and pallets caught fire. That fire was brought under control through an aggressive attack that spared the FedEx warehouse, the fire department said.  

Richards said no injuries had been reported.

South San Joaquin County Fire Chief Randall Bradley said the fire originated from the roof of the Medline facility, which had collapsed. The building has been declared a total loss. 

Bradley noted that the sprinkler system was not operating at the time of the fire, though it remains unclear as why. 

"We had water supply issues and we're not sure why," said Bradley. "We're not sure if the sprinkler systems that protect this facility operated appropriately. We made a good aggressive interior fire attack. The sprinklers were not operating, so we'll have to find out what happened to the water supply." 

Bradley said the department went back and checked records to see when the system was last inspected. 

"They were tested in January: the fire system, the fire pumps, the fire hydrants and the fire alarm system," Bradley said. "So those tests were done. It will take us a while to figure out why those hydrants weren't as operational as they should have been." 

By early evening, the fire had gone to five alarms, though Bradley said no homes had to be evacuated. The area is largely an industrial warehouse location. 

A KTVU reporter at the scene described a chemical smell in the air from the smoke, which could be from potential toxins stored inside the warehouse. Chief Bradley said there was likely a lot of cardboard and paper products inside the warehouse. 

When Sgt. Richards addressed the media earlier in the day, explosions could be heard in the background. He speculated those could have been gas tanks exploding. 

Fire crews are working to prevent further pop-up spot fires from spreading to dry grass by way of burning embers. Embers from the original roof fire spread throughout the community. 

Additional fires ignited from these embers. Chief Bradley said one was as far as two-and-a-half miles from the warehouse fire. The others were at the FedEx warehouse, the airport and at Lammers and Valpico roads. The airport fire was 100% contained, while the fire at Lammers and Valpico was 80% contained, the fire chief said. Crews are expected to work towards full containment of that fire throughout the night. 

At around 7 p.m., thick black smoke was still emanating from what was left of the warehouse, indicating the fire was very much still active. By 10 p.m., the building continued to burn. 

Fire officials said as many as 200 firefighters with an additional 100 support personnel had responded. That number slightly dwindled to 120 firefighters on hand as the evening wore on. The emergency declaration helps ensure the mutual aid response and resources remain in place. 

Rare in magnitude 

The fire chief stressed the rarity of a fire this size and magnitude, not only in California but for the U.S.

"This is such a unique fire. There's probably been three or four of these in the history of our country; this size of warehouse fire," said Bradley. 

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The chief said they would like to interview the person who made the initial 9-1-1 call. 

Medline says employees are accounted for

What they're saying:

A Medline spokesperson confirmed the fire broke out at one of the company's distribution facilities.

"All Medline employees and on-site personnel are accounted for. We are coordinating closely with local authorities and first responders as we assess the fire's impact and will share more details as they become available," the company said in a statement.

KTVU is reaching out to local medical facilities and hospitals to see if there are concerns of medical supply shortages associated with the fire. John Muir Health said they expect to know more by Friday.

Traffic impacted

Authorities urged residents and motorists to avoid the area and use alternate routes.

The California Highway Patrol's Dublin division said the fire was affecting traffic on Interstate 580.

Promontory Parkway remained closed as crews worked to contain the fire and secure the scene.

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