Every year Marina firefighters respond to an average of 26 structure fires. About half of them happen in old, abandoned buildings on the former Fort Ord.
The Marina Fire Department had an especially busy two-week span, responding to three structure fires. “We usually don’t have that many in that short of a time frame,” Marina Fire Chief Doug McCoun says.
Two of the three were in abandoned Army buildings, and firefighters say both were caused by humans; McCoun says they may have been started deliberately, not accidentally, based on reports from witnesses who saw people running away from the scene.
On June 22, a building in south Marina on Divarty Street burned; then on July 2, a building near Marina High School and Cypress Knolls, a large abandoned residential area in the heart of the city. Because these abandoned buildings are high-risk and contain hazardous materials like lead and asbestos, most times Marina FD only monitors a fire to make sure it doesn’t spread to vegetation and other structures, rather than going in to save a building.
These areas are fenced and have “No Trespassing” signs, but that doesn’t deter people from entering, sometimes seeking refuge. Mayor Bruce Delgado says fences aren’t “bulletproof” and people cut them or bend them to get in.
Marina has an active blight removal project that includes removing 45 barracks at Second Avenue and Eighth Street, where a future park will be located, and 30 buildings on Rendova Avenue near Cypress Knoll.
The third fire happened on July 5, when a mobile home was destroyed. The cause is believed to an equipment malfunction, such as a power strip.