El Centro Fire Department says Brooks Jewelry building is unsafe

Flames engulfed the property known as Brooks Jewelry, early Monday morning and now law enforcement are declaring the building unsafe, according to the El Centro Fire Department.

Traffic in the area has been restricted.

The ECFD said traffic lanes on Main St. from 6th to 576 Main (Union Bank), from 5th to 576 Main have a soft closure in effect allowing for limited traffic flow.

All traffic lanes in the 100 block of North 6th from Main St. to the Alley remain closed and the businesses immediately adjacent to the building will remain closed until further notice.

The businesses across the street and Union Bank remain open, and the sidewalk to the south and to the west will remain open as well as the businesses fronting Main Street and 6th Street on the west.

ECFD said city staff is working to correct the unsafe conditions and restore normal operations.

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ORIGINAL STORY:

The building that was Brooks Jewelry, a staple in downtown El Centro is no more. Flames engulfed the property early Monday morning and now law enforcement have new details that may lead to an arrest. The El Centro Fire Department said the blaze started right before 4 a.m. Monday morning.

El Centro Fire Department Battlion Chief Cedric Cesena said when they entered the building the fire proved to be a real struggle. “Multiple fires on the second floor when they entered. That’s one of the factors that made it very difficult for them,” said Cesena.

According to an El Centro Fire Department press release, “El Centro Firefighters performed an aggressive interior fire attack and were able to perform forcible entry, search and rescue operations, and attempted to extinguish the fire. Fire attack crews were faced with heavy and rapid fire growth, due to the deteriorating fire conditions in the building firefighters proceeded to retreat to a safer position and a defensive firefighting strategy was established. Fire crews checked adjacent businesses for fire extension and it was deemed that the fire was contained to the building of
origin. The coordinated fire attack and fire extension search prevented any further fire spread to other properties. Moderate to major water damage was reported to adjacent businesses.”

The age and material of the building also played a factor. Cesena said, “So there’s area and pockets where fire can hide. You know and continue to burn. Until we basically are able to get to it. The biggest difficulty is the roof collapsed. We are in defensive type fire. So putting personnel in the building is very dangerous.”

El Centro police believe arson could have been the cause of the fire. In a press release police described the suspect as wearing all black and leaving the scene in a BMX style bike. “The city of El Centro Police Department received some reports there was some suspicious activity. We still have to follow up on those reports and any leads that we have in relation to the fire,” said Cesena.

El Centro Mayor Edgard Garcia said it’s a loss for the downtown community. “This is a historic building. It has been around for a long time. A lot of people have a lot of fond memories of it. And it’s just terrible this happened,” Garcia said.

The El Centro Fire Department said it’s unknown how much money in property damage was lost in the fire.