BENICIA (CBS SF) — A 4-alarm fire erupted on the Benicia waterfront Saturday afternoon, engulfing a wooden commercial pier in flames, sending dockworkers scrambling for safety and releasing a massive plume of smoke over the region.
At a Saturday evening news conference, Benicia Mayor Steve Young said it may be a day or more before the four-alarm fire is out.
Benicia Fire Chief Jose Chadwick said the incident began around 2:20 p.m. with crews being called to the wharf area for a fire near the petcoke silos. Petcoke is a byproduct of the oil refining process.
“That fire was quickly extinguished but we had a very difficult time accessing the conveyor belt system,” he said. “The large rubber tracks (of the conveyor belts) were on fire. The fire dropped from that conveyor belt and ultimately caught the pier on fire.”
The fire was burning in the wooden support structure that had been treated years ago with croesote — wood preservative.
“There are large timbers that are creosote soaked logs and when they start burning it’s very difficult and extinguish,” Chadwick said. “That’s what’s burning now.”
A fire boat battles a 4-alarm blaze in Benicia Saturday
A crowd of spectators that gathered to watch the firefight from a nearby parking lot was dispersed by the police. Among them was Bill Goodrich, who lives near the docks.
“I was working outside, saw the smoke, thought ‘What the heck?’ and walked down here,” Goodrich said. “It was completely out a half an hour ago. The first fire was up by the ship. Somehow some embers must have jumped over to the pier.”
Meanwhile, harbor pilot arrived to navigate the docked ships away from the wharf.
Benicia officials also were carefully monitoring the smoke plume. They told local residents it wasn’t a threat.
“There is NO shelter in place in Benicia city limits,” Benicia firefighters tweeted. “This may change if there is a change in wind direction.”
Social media posts showed flames burning intensely as firefighters from Benicia and neighboring jurisdictions responded to battle the blaze and keep it from spreading to the ships nearby.
Firefighters attacked the flames from both land and from fireboats. Fire departments in San Francisco, Oakland, Tiburon and Con Fire sent their boats to help battle the blaze.
“Really the only way to access underneath the pier is through fireboats on the water side,” Chadwick said.
According to the East Bay Times, the dock is owned by the city of Benicia and leased to Amports, which uses it to offload imported vehicles from freighters. It is also used by the Valero Benicia Refinery.
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