THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 27, 1996 TAG: 9608270258
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 79 lines
For the second time in 2 1/2 years, flames swept through part of the Shurgard Storage Center in the 700 block of S. Military Highway, this time damaging between 16 and 18 units.
The cause of the fire, early Monday, is under investigation, and officials said it was impossible to place a damage estimate until owners declare the value of property they had stored in the units.
The blaze was discovered by police about 2:15 a.m. when officers arrived at the large storage facility to check a burglar alarm, said Chase Sargent, a Fire Department spokesman. Instead, they found smoke coming from a detached building with 21 storage units.
The blaze affected storage units 356 through 376, although a few of those sustained only smoke and water damage and at least two units were empty.
About 25 firefighters from five engine companies, one ladder truck and several support units were called. But it wasn't easy. The Shurgard facility includes a series of buildings, each subdivided into different-sized storage units.
Getting to the fire proved difficult.
First, firefighters had to cut through a gate.
Then they discovered that the buildings are so close together within the complex that it was almost impossible to get a fire truck to the burning structure at the heart of the maze.
While some firefighters pulled ladders and gear off the side of one engine so that they could maneuver it in, other trucks went to the parking lot of a restaurant next door. From there, they cut through a chain-link fence and firefighters handled lengths of hose through and to the fire scene.
Eventually, after five tries, Sargent said firefighters were able to get one engine close to the burned building.
Once at the burning building, firefighters still had a lot of work to do before they could face the flames. Each unit is secured with a heavy duty, roll-away door. Initially, crews used saws to cut jagged, triangular holes in the doors so they could direct water into the burning units.
Then they had to rip the doors down from the overhead bins into which they normally roll when opened.
That done, firefighters were able to begin the slow task of pulling out the burned, charred and melted remnants of people's property so everything could be soaked down to be sure the fire was out. Sargent said firefighters remained on the scene until late morning.
``Most of the buildings do not have an integrated smoke alarm system or sprinklers,'' Sargent said. Smoke sensors were added to newer units built to replace those destroyed in the 1993 Christmas Eve blaze. That L-shaped building is next door to the one that burned Monday.
Otherwise, Sargent said, the only alarm is a motion detector system that senses whether anyone or anything is lurking between the various buildings. It's that alarm that went off at 2:15 a.m., he said. But it's unclear what set it off.
``It could have been a person or an animal or a malfunction,'' Sargent said. Until tapes from the security company are reviewed, there's no way to know if the alarm and the fire are linked.
Still, this fire was not as much of a problem as the three-alarm fire in 1993 that took 14 hours to quell. That blaze was deemed an accident.
``These things are always pretty much a nightmare,'' Sargent said. One problem is that firefighters have no way of knowing what is stored in the units. There is no requirement to post a list of contents on the door, and while city codes prohibit dangerous materials like gasoline, chemicals and hazardous materials from being stored in the units, that's exactly what firefighters often find.
``I'm not sure who is supposed to be responsible for enforcement,'' Sargent said. ``We don't send fire inspectors in to check each unit and I'm not sure what Shurgard's practices are of ensuring that there are no quantities of hazmat materials. It's pretty much an honor system.''
The manager at the storage center said that the company has ``very strict guidelines'' on what people can store and that those rules are followed. ILLUSTRATION: MARTIN C. GRUBE
Tidewater Fire Photographers Association
Virginia Beach firefighters had to punch holes into the doors of
each storage shelter to get water to the fire. Then came the task of
hauling out people's belongings and dousing them thoroughly.
KEYWORDS: FIRE VIRGINIA BEACH by CNB