Three-alarm fire heavily damages structures at Richmond public storage facility

RICHMOND — Structures at a public storage facility were heavily damaged in a three-alarm fire Wednesday morning that also left one firefighter with minor injuries, authorities said.

The fire at Public Storage, 398 Carlson Blvd., erupted about 12:16 a.m. and was brought under control by 35 firefighters about 6:30 a.m., said Deputy fire Chief Rico Rincon.

Firefighters expected to be at the facility well into the day Wednesday making sure there were no flareups.

An alert was issued to area residents about 9:20 a.m. about smoke in the area, but there was no shelter-in-place order.

The fire heavily damaged an administration building that also had living quarters as well as numerous storage units. Employees were able to self-evacuate before firefighters arrived.

The fire caused the roof of the administration building to collapse.

The firefighter who was injured was treated at the scene, Rincon said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. A damage figure was not immediately available.

It was not immediately known how many storage units are at the facility but they can be rented to store boats, cars, RVs and other items, according to the facility’s website.