Investigation continues in old Fresno County morgue fire

FRESNO, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – Fresno Firefighters were outside all day Tuesday battling a major fire at an abandoned building off Highway 99.

Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig said the county was planning on selling the old morgue building until this fire. Magsig also says that the building has had a history of vagrants living there illegally.

Around 7:30 a.m., Fresno Fire was called into action after a major fire was reported at the old Fresno County Coroner’s Office.

“While en route, there was already a large column of smoke visible from miles away. When the crews arrived, they reported heavy fire and smoke showing from both floors of the building,” Fresno Fire Department’s Josh Sellers said.

Fire crews were outside in triple-digit weather all day battling the fire, and ultimately calling cleaning crews to put out hotspots and bring the structure down.

“Just like any other day that we have these higher temperatures, we’re giving those firefighters breaks trying to rotate and limit the work duration and make sure that they get rest and time to rehydrate in between their work cycles,” Sellers said.

Sellers says it’s still too early to determine the cause of the fire. However, County Supervisor Nathan Magsig says he has an idea.

“Over the course of the last several months, we’ve had issues with vagrants breaking into that particular site, cutting through the fence that was there and vandalizing the building. I saw some pictures already that the fence had been cut again. I have suspicions that vagrants may have caused the fire today,” Fresno County Board of Supervisor Nathan Magsig said.

The old morgue building was last used as an animal shelter two and a half years ago, and the county had plans to sell the structure.

“Right now, the county is going through the process of taking a look at a lot of properties that are underutilized or can be sold. This was one of the properties that we were looking at,” Magsig said.

Now, a major cleanup is underway.

“We’re going through the process of gathering permits so we can remove the debris off-site,” Magsig said.

Because the county still has plans for the land.

“I know our public works department will take a look and see if they have a particular use for this site. But if there is not a use, I know that we can declare this particular piece of property as not needed in the county of Fresno and we can put it up for sale and then the public will have an opportunity to bid on it,” Magsig said.

No one was injured in the fire and Supervisor Magsig says that he expects crews to be out at the scene for several more weeks before all debris is cleaned and the county can move forward.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com | CBS47 and KSEE24.