Fire closes Warming Hut
Electric car outside Crissy Field cafe bursts into flames
- Chuck Squatriglia, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, January 26, 2007
(01-26) 13:25 PST -- An electric vehicle parked outside the Warming Hut at Crissy Field caught fire early this morning, damaging the popular cafe and gift shop so severely that it will remain closed for several weeks while the National Park Service makes repairs.
Golden Gate Bridge security officers saw a two-story pillar of flame shortly after midnight and alerted the Park Service Fire Department, which extinguished the fire within 30 minutes, said Rich Weideman, a spokesman for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
Investigators determined the blaze started with an electrical fire in a nearby Gem electric vehicle, but they do not know what went wrong with the vehicle, Weideman said. The vehicle was unplugged and parked on the west side of the Warming Hut, he said.
The fire caused relatively little damage, but the smoke it generated and the water used to extinguish it made a mess of the building and its inventory, Weideman said.
The Warming Hut is among the park's most popular buildings, a place where tourists and locals alike grab a cup of coffee, a bite to eat and a souvenir. With the Warming Hut boarded up, visitors are encouraged to visit the Crissy Cafe not far away at the Crissy Center.
Today's fire was the second time a Gem vehicle has caught fire at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. One of the DaimlerChrysler-made vehicles caught fire a year ago at Alcatraz Island. That vehicle was plugged in at the time, prompting GGNRA officials to adopt a policy requiring that unattended vehicles be left unplugged, Weideman said.
In both cases, the vehicles "burned literally to the frame," and investigators suspect a problem with the vehicles' batteries or wiring, Weideman said. Park authorities contacted DaimlerChrysler after last year's fire and were told the automaker was not aware of any problems, Weideman said.
Park officials have once again contacted DaimlerChrysler and will be working with the company to determine what went wrong. In the meantime, the park and the Golden Gate National Park Conservancy, the park's nonprofit fundraising and outreach arm, are reviewing their policies regarding the use and storage of Gem vehicles, Weideman said.
E-mail Chuck Squatriglia at csquatriglia [at] sfchronicle.com.
URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/01/26/BAGGONPRBP14.DTL
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Fire closes Warming Hut Electric car outside Crissy Field cafe bursts into flames
Chuck Squatriglia, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, January 26, 2007
(01-26) 13:25 PST -- An electric vehicle parked outside the Warming Hut at Crissy Field caught fire early this morning, damaging the popular cafe and gift shop so severely that it will remain closed for several weeks while the National Park Service makes repairs.
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