Plane Catches Fire At Petaluma Airport

PETALUMA, CA — Petaluma Fire Department officials were still trying to determine what caused an airplane to catch fire Sunday inside a hangar at the Petaluma Municipal Airport, but say the blaze is not suspicious. The fire was reported at about 6:49 p.m. and firefighters had to force open several hangar doors in order to access it, according to Petaluma fire Battalion Chief Jeff Schach.

A dual-engine airplane was found to be ablaze inside hangar 8, a building that houses about a dozen individual hangars. The plane's fuselage was fully involved in fire, producing thick black smoke visible from inside and outside the building, Schach said.

Crews quickly brought the fire under control and stopped it from damaging any other aircraft, according to Schach.

It took about 45 minutes altogether to safely mitigate a fuel spill of about 70 gallons that had leaked onto the hangar floor, the battalion chief said. Surrounding hangars had moderate smoke damage and there was water/fuel infiltration onto the floors of two neighboring units.

"No firefighters or civilians were injured during the fire," Schach said. "The airplane had reportedly not been flown that same day. The fire is not suspicious and the cause is currently under investigation."

Three Petaluma fire engine crews and two medic units responded to the incident, along with an engine crew from Rancho Adobe Fire. Personnel from the Petaluma Public Works Department also responded, as did the airport's management.

"Neighboring fire agencies covered the city during the fire and responded to several emergencies while Petaluma units were committed at the airport," Schach said.

A crew with a private hazardous materials clean-up company mitigated all unburned aviation fuel that remained in the hangars and on the airport property, the battalion chief said.

Firefighters prevented runoff of fuel, water and foam from reaching nearby storm drains and an adjacent drainage system, according to Schach.

Photo courtesy Petaluma Fire Department