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Quake-Damaged Water Main Hampers Vallejo Firefighters' Efforts On Mare Island

VALLEJO (KCBS)— An earthquake-damaged water main played a role in Vallejo firefighters' ability to put out a fire on Mare Island. The fire broke out before 9 a.m. Tuesday in a vacant and abandoned commissary store. The water main, which has since been repaired, suffered diminished pressure from Sunday's 6.0 earthquake in Napa, County.

Vallejo city officials have had over 20 water-main breaks since the temblor. The one on Mare Island was about a quarter mile from the fire.

Fire Chief Jack McArthur said it could have been a big concern if the entire structure were on fire.

"The fire took about one-fourth of the building," he said. "We had adequate water to fight the fire. We didn't have as much water as we usually would have."

Quake-Damaged Water Main Hampers Vallejo Firefighters' Efforts On Mare Island

McArthur said the water-main break was ongoing prior to the fire, which led to the department having only about half the water pressure.

Crews were able to get the fire under control in about an hour.

City Manager Daniel Keen said they're still responding to calls of outbreaks that either went undetected or have developed since the earthquake.

"We're still getting calls about structural issues, chimney's or other things that people have observed around their house or their business that they wanted to come out and assess," Keen said, adding that up to 30 homes and businesses have been red tagged.

The State Office of Emergency Services has been assisting Vallejo by supplementing its building inspector and engineering staff.

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