Fire strikes at former Harris Department Store in San Bernardino

Firefighters last week extinguished an intense blaze amid scorching temperatures at the former Harris Department Store building in San Bernardino, city officials reported.

The afternoon fire on July 8 was reported at the vacant, heavily vandalized building on E Street between 2nd and Court streets. According to the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District, the bulk of the fire originated on the fourth floor in an area that was office space for the company.

“Pervasive vandalism contributed to difficulties in accessing areas of fire involvement,” according to a city statement. “As a final challenge, the concrete roof and masonry building construction created oven-like conditions for crews with temperatures on the fire floor ranging from 180 to several hundred degrees while the outside temperature hovered at the century mark.”

Several transients were located in the building and evacuated, officials said. There were no fatalities and no reported injuries. Two firefighters were treated at the scene, and two were transported to local hospitals with minor injuries.

The vacant department store has been boarded up and secured by San Bernardino Code Enforcement personnel, according to the city.

“San Bernardino’s building official has preliminarily issued a red tag due to health and safety concerns” and was on site after the fire to further inspect and evaluate the extent of the damage, according to the city statement.

The Spain-based current owner of the building was notified of the incident, officials said. The city has been negotiating to buy the building, and the fire is not expected to affect the acquisition that is expected to be finalized this week.

“When the city assumes ownership of the building, it intends to take additional steps to secure the building, which will include extending the current security at the Mall site and parking structure to include the Harris Building, as well as fortifying the building using enhanced methods and materials,” the statement said.

Details on the cause of the fire were not released.