Carson City Fire responds to 4 blazes in 2 days

The Carson City Fire Department has been kept busy, responding to four fires in the past two days.

Two of the fires were structure fires, one a brush fire and one an equipment fire, said Carson City Battalion Chief Jason Danen.

The first occurred at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Highway 50 Tahoe Western Asphalt plant, where crews responded to reports of a piece of equipment on fire. Danen said when they arrived they found discolored smoke coming from the smoke stack and visible flames at the top. Workers warned the firefighters the asphalt plant that was surrounded by diesel tanks, liquid asphalt and a 10,000 gallon propane tank may explode.

At first crews attempted to fight the fire with hand lines, however due to the potential explosion risk went to defensive tactics with deck guns using water tenders to put out the fire.

“It was a big piece of equipment and it certainly had a lot of potential to go bad really fast,” Danen said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation and no one was injured.

The second fire occurred right next to the first one. Danen said they were leaving the asphalt plant around 5 p.m. when they noticed three smoke plumes next to Highway 50 near Dump Hill Road.

Crews discovered three small vegetation fires in the sagebrush, with the largest one burning at about a half an acre. Danen said it was a moderate spread and they believed it likely started on the road, though the official cause is still undetermined.

A city worker was also helping put out the smaller of the fires with an extinguisher.

The fire was under control shortly and no injuries were sustained.

Crews also responded to a structure fire around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday at an RV park behind the Highway 50 Phillips Motel.

When firefighters responded, they found a residential fifth wheel trailer in flames. An electric malfunction caused one of the appliances to catch on fire, Danen said.

Crews were able to put out the fire before it spread to other structures. While the trailer was destroyed, no one was injured.

The last incident the department responded to occurred Thursday morning at the Carson Street Taco Bell.

When employees arrived to work Thursday morning, they smelled smoke and called 911. Danen said there was no flames; it was a mechanical failure with the freezer system.

There were no injuries or damage done to the building and the health department has closed the store until the cause of the malfunction can be determined.