[UPDATE 11:30 p.m. Video and Photos] Vet’s Hall in Arcata on Fire

Multiple fire departments are being called to handle a fire at the Veteran’s Memorial Building in Arcata. The building is at 14th and J Street. Arcata Fire “reports a single room on fire on the 2nd story.” The first call came in at 7:35 p.m.

UPDATE 7:56 p.m.: Scanner traffic indicates the fire is controlled. Here’s a video sent in by reader Bryn Coriell.

UPDATE 9:16 p.m.: Photos from Arcata Fire.

UPDATE 11:30 p.m.: Press release from Arcata Fire:

At approximately 7:37 PM, Arcata Fire District responded to a structure fire located at the Veterans Hall in the 1400 block of J Street in Arcata. The initial dispatch described the building as “fully involved,” but the first engine on scene reported smoke coming from the chimney area. The Captain on the engine did a quick size up and found flames visible in the window of a room on the west side of the building. He instructed his crew to establish a water supply and put a handline in action while they forced entry at the front door. According to Chief Desmond Cowan, “The downtown Arcata engine was staffed with four firefighters today because of our SAFER grant and also having a volunteer on the engine for the day. That 4-person crew was able to do four crucial jobs at once and got a quick knock down on the fire.”

Investigators traced the fire to an extension cord in the office area. The cord appears to have failed and caused a floor-level fire that burned the carpet and up the wall and involved the sofa and furniture in the room. A neighbor noticed the fire and called 9-1-1. Extensive heat and smoke damage occurred in the office as well as some limited water damage in the space below the office.

Two engines and the ladder truck from Arcata Fire District responded along with two Chief officers. Humboldt Bay Fire sent an engine and a Chief as did Blue Lake Fire. Fieldbrook and Samoa provided cover engines. While covering the McKinleyville Station, Fieldbrook responded to a medical aid call and a report of power lines down. A total of 25 emergency responders worked at the Veterans Hall fire. The building, with a replacement value estimated at over $1.7 million, sustained only about $45,000 damage. There were no injuries to firefighters or the public.