Officials say sprinklers at California medical equipment warehouse
didn't work during blaze
[June 13, 2026]
By SUDHIN THANAWALA and OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ
Firefighters responding to a blaze that destroyed a massive medical
equipment warehouse in Northern California that was still burning a day
later were hindered by sprinklers and hydrants that weren't working,
authorities said Friday.
The 1 million-square-foot (93,000-square-meter) warehouse in Tracy, a
city about 55 miles (88.5 kilometers) east of San Francisco, supplied
medical equipment to area hospitals. It's owned by Medline, a major
medical-surgical products provider of medical equipment such as latex
gloves, masks, surgical instruments.
Smoke billowed Friday from the blaze that sent embers flying for miles,
as firefighters continued to put out hot spots and city crews cleaned
debris from nearby streets.
Authorities said they don’t yet know why the water system failed during
the blaze but it appeared to be a problem with the facility’s system,
not city supply.
Local fire codes generally require large warehouses to have hydrants and
sprinklers and ensure both are functioning, said Brian O'Connor, a
licensed fire protection engineer with the National Fire Protection
Association.
“If you have a large facility, it can be difficult for firefighters to
stretch a hose from the closest public hydrant to the building,” he
said.
Crews responding to the blaze that broke out around 1 p.m. Thursday
encountered flames on the roof and noticed no water coming out of the
building's sprinklers, Tracy Deputy Fire Chief Brian Bagley said. A fire
official found a pump was pushing little to no water through both the
sprinklers and on-site hydrants, he said.
Firefighters were forced to try to connect to city hydrants instead. The
building was engulfed by fire within 40 minutes, Bagley said.
"It’s very, very challenging,” Bagley told reporters. “You can imagine
it's a skyscraper laying on its side.”
He said firefighters have gained ground on the blaze they are battling
in windy and low humidity conditions with temperatures that reached 95
degrees Friday.
“The density and the volume of smoke has changed drastically from this
morning. The smoke is a lot lighter and not quite traveling as far,” he
said, adding that the wind was helping the smoke move away from
residential areas.
The facility was evacuated, and no one was injured. The massive
warehouse was one of more than 50 distribution centers across the
country for Medline, which according to its online catalog sells
bandages, wheelchairs, catheters, hospital beds and many other medical
supplies.
It is not clear what exactly was stored at the Tracy warehouse but the
company said in a statement that it was mainly serving Northern
California hospitals and that following the fire, it activated a
contingency plan.
[to top of second column]
|
Smoke is seen from the massive fire at the Medline medical supply
warehouse in Tracy, Calif., Friday, June 12, 2026. (Stephen Lam/San
Francisco Chronicle via AP)
“Product distribution previously supported by the Tracy facility has
been reassigned and it is in the process of being deployed to other
facilities within our regional network to help maintain service and
support customer needs,” Medline said.
Bagley said crews on Friday were trying to give drivers access to
the property to remove trailers loaded with medical equipment that
were not affected by the fire.
Mary Massey, who is in charge of the hospital preparedness program
at the California Hospital Association, said it was too early to
know the impact on medical supplies for regional hospitals but that
most medical service providers have cooperation agreements to get
urgent supplies if needed.
“We write plans for these kinds of things and we work together, not
just hospitals, but also clinics, long-term care, dialysis, public
health, ambulances. We all work together,” she said.
Embers from the blaze sparked two grass fires, and set pallets and
multiple big rig trailers at a nearby FedEx facility ablaze.
Firefighters were able to knock those fires down.
Crews overnight had to contend with new fires in trailers that were
loaded with supplies.
Bagley said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
would help investigate the cause of the blaze, but authorities would
probably not be able to get into the warehouse for at least a couple
of more days. The sprinkler system had been tested in January by an
outside company and no issues were found, Bagley said.
Fire officials were still working on Friday to gather additional
information about inspections of the warehouse's water systems, said
Nicole Boswell, a spokesperson for the fire department. She said
local fire officials also conduct annual inspections of businesses,
including their water systems, but she did not know what the fire
department found during their recent inspection of the warehouse.
The warehouse is in a massive industrial park that also houses
fulfillment and distribution centers for Amazon, Home Depot and
FedEx.
Bagley recommended people near the fire stay indoors but said air
quality tests had not raised any “grave concerns.”
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
