Fire at Gallo Glass Co. destroys bottles but buildings not affected

An early morning fire today destroyed bottles stacked on wooden pallets outdoors at the Gallo Glass Co. in Modesto's airport neighborhood.

The bottles were shrink-wrapped in plastic and stacked 10 to 15 feet high, said Battalion Chief Paul Spani with the Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District.

He said the pallets took up an area of about 75 feet by 100 feet at the South Santa Cruz Avenue plant near Oregon Drive.

Spani said the fire was reported shortly after midnight.

He said it took firefighters about an hour to put the blaze out. Firefighters were at the plant until about 6:30 a.m. putting out hot spots and mopping up.

Spani said the fire did not damage any of the plant's buildings.

Five engines and about 20 firefighters fought the fire. That included one fire engine and crew from Ceres. Spani said Ceres and Hughson fire also filled in for Consolidated firefighters during the blaze.

There were no reports of injuries.

Spani did not have an estimate on how much damage the fire caused. He said the fire's cause remains under investigation.

Gallo Glass Co. officials could not be reached for comment today.