A massive fire tore through a Medline medical supply distribution warehouse Thursday afternoon in Tracy, sending a thick plume of black smoke over the Central Valley, destroying much of the 1-million-square-foot facility and forcing evacuations at nearby warehouses.
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Everyone working at the Medline property escaped and has been accounted for, said Kaylin Heefner, a spokesperson for the Tracy Police Department.
It was not immediately clear Thursday afternoon what sparked the blaze, how many nearby buildings were evacuated or whether the fire posed any broader health or environmental risk.
The blaze began shortly before 1 p.m. at the warehouse off Promontory Parkway and continued burning late Thursday afternoon, Heefner said. The fire prompted evacuations at several nearby buildings in the heavily industrial area.
The fire was first reported by someone at a nearby FedEx facility, though that building appeared to remain untouched by the flames by mid-Thursday afternoon.
The Medline building, used as a distribution center for the medical supply company, was largely destroyed, Heefner said.
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In an update posted to its website, the city of Tracy said firefighters arrived to find a rapidly developing fire involving the roof of the Medline building. Early suppression efforts, the city noted, were hampered by a failure of the building’s private fire protection system, which “significantly impacted initial firefighting operations.”
“Combined with high winds, low humidity and elevated temperatures, the fire quickly extended from the roof into the interior of the facility,” the city said in the update.
As the fire raged, embers drifted to the south and ignited several spot fires, the city said. They included large pallet storage areas and several trailers near the FedEx facility.
“Mutual aid resources were quickly deployed to these locations and successfully contained the fires, preventing further spread,” the city said.
Firefighters from multiple agencies responded, including the San Joaquin Fire Authority, the Lathrop Manteca and Contra Costa County fire protection districts, and the Stockton, Manteca and Mountain House fire departments. The Defense Logistics Agency also responded.
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Check back for updates to this developing story.
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