Commercial blaze in industrial area of Watsonville leaves firefighter with minor injuries

WATSONVILLE — An industrial-area commercial fire Monday morning sent a column of black smoke into the sky and left one firefighter with minor injuries, a Watsonville Fire Department authority said.

As 911 calls began to pour in shortly after 10 a.m., firefighters soon tracked the blaze, initially reported as at an unknown location, to the 600 block of West Beach Street. A fire appeared to have been sparked just outside the business’ property line and spread to a small equipment storage building, said Watsonville Fire Battalion Chief Jonathan Goulding. The fire investigation remained ongoing Monday afternoon and the fire's cause remained undetermined, he said.

The fire's smoke appeared black in color, Goulding said, due to the synthetic material — primarily plastic privacy fencing and rubberized hoses — that burned. A small area of vegetation also caught fire and there was limited internal building damage, he said. Firefighters, however, were able to knock down the bulk of the fire within about two minutes of gaining entry to the property and prevent the blaze from spreading to an approximately 500-gallon propane tank nearby, Goulding said.

One firefighter sustained minor injuries and was taken to an area hospital for treatment before being released, Goulding said.

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