[UPDATE 9:15 a.m.] Red Cross Called to Help Families Displaced at Large Apartment Building Fire on Harris and California

downloadA bus has been requested to take approximately 20 people to a shelter after fire crews were dispatched to a blaze in an apartment at 2969 California Street about 5:55 a.m. This is a two story, wood-frame apartment complex. A downstairs apartment appears to have been the origin of the fire but the first crews on site reported that the fire had extended into the upper story. Red Cross has been called to assist families affected by the fire.

There is traffic control on Harris and California so please avoid the area if possible. PG&E has been notified. The building is owned by Floyd Squires.

UPDATE 7:36 a.m.: Oliver Cory, our northern reporter, provided these photos from the scene.

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UPDATE 7:49 a.m.: Red Cross is at the scene working with displaced families.

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Residents of the apartment building await the coming challenges.

UPDATE 8 a.m.: One lane of traffic is now open on Harris.

UPDATE 8:23 a.m.: According to Battalion Chief Kent Hulbert, “At 5:53 this morning, we got notified there was a fire.” Hulbert said that about 20 to 30 people have been displaced by this fire.

Fighting the fire was difficult because there was another small structure fire in Arcata at the same time so fire resources were already tied up.

Most of the damage from the Eureka Fire, Hulbert said, was located in two apartments but there was smoke damage throughout the building. Thankfully, there were no injuries to civilians or the fire department crews.

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Residents and their pets stand by a bus that will take them to a shelter.

UPDATE 9 a.m.: Our reporter, Oliver Cory, spoke to Floyd Squires the owner of the building. Squires, who owns numerous properties in the area has had legal action taken against him by the City of Eureka for “ongoing and pervasive” code violations in the past, said that he has owned the building since 1980 with “not a lot of problems.”

“We had a fire inspection a month ago and passed with flying colors,” Squires said. However, he said that the tenant of the apartment where the fire appears to have started “got an eviction notice the first of the month.”

UPDATE 9:15 a.m.: Both lanes of Harris now opened.

UPDATE 9:46 a.m.: More photos from Oliver Cory.

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Mercy Me, Mabel!
Guest
Mercy Me, Mabel!
8 years ago

I am sincerely glad that no one was apparently hurt in this fire, but it begs the question:
Is it going to take a loss of life to get Squires to keep his properties in habitable condition for the tenants from whom he profits?

Daily Walker
Guest
Daily Walker
8 years ago

I seriously doubt it. Squires is a true slum lord who only loves money and could care less about people. His demeanor in court proves that. He is a Humboldt version of Scrooge.

I used to have a friend who lived there that I rarely visited because the place was severely infested with cockroaches to the point no one liked living there but had nowhere else to go so they were trapped in that filth. Gross!! I was very glad for them when they got to move out of there. I felt bad for them because they had to throw away most of their clothes and all of their furniture because of the cockroaches.

Look at the Blue Heron over by Bayshore Mall. A dumpster had less filth than that place and is a lot more sanitary too.

LAZY SKUNK RANCH
Guest
LAZY SKUNK RANCH
8 years ago

Never get on a NGO bus, never….

But blaming the landlord for the fire is plain silly and slander. Could have been started by a number of reasons, including haters. Not wise to place blame on property owners, until you have the facts.

If I were to speculate that someone from City Of Eureka Community Improvement Team did it, Kym would delete the post. Blaming the land lord deserves the same.

Facts are facts and RENTERS have more fires than PROPERTY OWNERS. Maybe the city should inspect and rummage every renters property within city limits for their own good? Renters don’t have property rights, so it would be an easy “law” to pass and begin to search these renter’s dwellings.

slumlords suck
Guest
slumlords suck
8 years ago

“Squires, who owns numerous properties in the area has had legal action taken against him by the City of Eureka for “ongoing and pervasive” code violations in the past”

Maybe you havent been here long, the Squiers have been slumlords for at least 20 years. His properties are usually in horrible shape. The city obviously thinks so as they shut down & evicted the tenants from the blight of a building on Broadway. Yes a tenant may have been responsible for this. History speaks tho and I wouldn’t be surprised if thus was caused by a gas leak. Who is protecting this guy? How much public money has been used to deal with problems at his properties?
Searching tenants apartments, as you suggest, would violate ones constitutional rights. Searching buildings for violations and then actually holding the landlord to task of fixing them…that’s a good search. Black mold, cockroaches, leaking pipes, floorboards about to give, etc. Do a little research about their history as landlords.
I know there are idiot renters who ruin peoples rentals. It could be the case here. I highly doubt it.

LAZY SKUNK RANCH
Guest
LAZY SKUNK RANCH
8 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

No doubt, Kym. Honestly, I don’t believe it’s any of the city’s business on how people handle their business. The city doesn’t care either, because they’ve spent millions in trying to steal his land by writing things down on paper they call an ordinance.
Allowing the community improvement team to search everyone’s homes is nuts, but is their goal. Much the same line of brazen theft like Larry and his trash collection buddies.

Yea, he’s got run down properties, but people in Eureka LIKE to live like that, so why repair something they will simply break on their next tweak out?

What does the city do with, and how much have they collected from shutting off power to people that have a run in with POP? Where do those extra fees go, and why won’t the community improvement team, ( k g ) comment on that?

For the renters- rents would come down if there weren’t a need for permits, fees, and constant attempted land theft in NoHum by city employees.

wowz
Guest
wowz
8 years ago

What is with the assumption that all eureka citizens are tweekers? And folks in Eureka “like to live this way”???? So out of line. So the good ole boys like Squires at the Carson House like to be in filth? There are many many great non tweeky folks living in Eureka. Funny, it used to be Mckinleyville that was pegged as tweekers town. There are many hard working folks who cannot make ends meet and end up having to rent these scummy places. I mean those old folks in the picture above look so tweeky, rite? (insert sarcastic laff) Rules by city/county on the state of rentals are unfortunately needed as the sicknesses and diseases that can happen through cockroaches, etc. can easily spread no matter how clean one is. If its so expensive to keep a place up to par, as you suggest, how do so many other rental companies stay in business here? Why is it always the Squires who have these problems??? My first rental in the early 90’s had a wall that leaked water from the roof down; it poured out of the wall onto the carpet. The property management wouldn’t fix it so I contacted renters help group in the area who gave me good advice. They talked to the mngmnt company and the roof got fixed. When I helped a friend go to the same group to get help with the Squires, they just sighed and said good luck. The same actions I had done was no help with the Squires involved. Why???? Are the rules meant to be applied only to a few? Obviously you have a strong opinion on this and wouldnt be surprised if you are Squires. Why have no other landlords talked about ‘the city stealing property? Like the blue disaster on broadway? Troll on dude

LAZY SKUNK RANCH
Guest
LAZY SKUNK RANCH
8 years ago
Reply to  wowz

The more bean counters you have involved in anything, the higher the cost to the end user. Bean counters don’t produce anything, but feed themselves from the plates of those that do.

Many property owners complain about the city stealing land through liens and things they write on paper and try to call a law.

Why Kym hasn’t written a story on how Eureka’s Community Improvement Team takes money from PG&E when power is shut off, other liens, abatement, etc. Where that money goes, how much it is, and why they won’t talk about it. I think I know the reason why she hasn’t written on the subject, but we’ll leave that for her to state.

As for Eureka and the people LIKE living like that, I stand by that comment. Eureka is broken and only a tsunami will fix the problems there. The city encourages the problems as a form of profit for their corporation and job security, they have no vested interest in Eureka being a nice place to live.

If you don’t want to live in some dump, don’t rent the dump. Don’t rent a dump and demand the PROPERTY OWNER fix it up for your PROPERTY-LESS self, go buy your own gig and mind your own business.

Squires are true business owners, something renter trash will never understand, because they have no skin in the game.

nines
Guest
8 years ago

Why is it ALWAYS a choice between hard ass libertarianism and fascist authoritarianism in this country?

LAZY SKUNK RANCH
Guest
LAZY SKUNK RANCH
8 years ago
Reply to  nines

Good question….

maybe ask Bruce Jenner?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t82kniPdis8#t=50

nines
Guest
8 years ago

Yeah, no. I don’t think there’s a surgery for it.

Seamus
Guest
Seamus
8 years ago

22-30 = 20 to 30

Oliver Cory
Guest
Oliver Cory
8 years ago
Reply to  Seamus

You’re right. He paused after he said “20 to,” so I wrote it down as 22 in my notes. I didn’t catch it until it was already on this page.

BC
Guest
BC
8 years ago

Those folks have only a few days to reassemble their lives. An acquaintance from a few years ago lost her rental in a fire and the Red Cross put her up in a motel for something like 3 days…. quite the rush to get yourself squared away fast.