Perimeter fire breaks out at the Gallo Glass plant in south Modesto

Fuel canisters exploded and a fire broke out in an outside construction area at the Gallo Glass Company in south Modesto late Saturday morning.

The Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Department responded at 11:05 a.m. to a call for commercial structure fire at the Gallo Glass plant on South Santa Cruz Ave. Fire crews arrived to find a fire along the eastern fence line of the facility. The fire was knocked down in about 20 minutes, said Stanislaus Consolidated Battalion Chief Eric DeHart.

No injuries were reported, but fire crews remained on scene as welding fuel from nearby cylinders that had been badly singed in the fire vented out. Portions of South Santa Cruz Avenue were closed to traffic during the response.

Alex Hernandez, who lives across from the plant, said he heard two loud explosions after each other. Then there was a column of smoke and then fire. He said he rushed his family to the back of the house, which faces the plant.

“I told them to get back and everyone put their heads down,” he said. “It was all smoke and fire and it was intense. I was worried for my family.”

No injuries were reported and operations continued as normal at the glass plant. Construction crews from a third-party company were on site working on a project at the plant, and evacuated the immediate fire zone.

Curious onlookers watched from across the street as crews from five engines, two trucks and two battalion chiefs from Stanislaus Consolidated, Modesto Fire and Ceres Fire responded to the scene. Firefighters found construction materials and several pressurized fuel cylinders ablaze.

DeHart said it isn’t clear yet whether an explosion of the welding fuel cylinders sparked the fire, or the cylinders exploded during the blaze. The investigation is ongoing.

This story was originally published September 29, 2018 at 1:49 PM.