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# Donna Block Santa Monica Firehouse blaze
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/donna-block-santa-monica-firehouse-blaze/
- Published: 2002-04-23T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T00:15:02.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: local, Ocean Park, #archive-import

*blamed on oily rags*

*By Daily Press staff*

Fire investigators believe they have located the source of a fire that gutted the second floor of an unmanned fire station in Ocean Park last week.

They said oil-soaked rags, used for finishing woodwork, were left balled up on the floor. The fumes from the rags could not escape and caused the rags to heat up until they burst into flames.

Fire officials recommend laying rags dipped in flammable oils flat to dry. There have already been other fires this year in Santa Monica caused by oil-soaked rags.

The two-alarm fire Thursday night at Fire Station 2 on the 200 block of Hollister Avenue caused an estimated $500,000 in damages to the second floor and attic of the facility.

The new fire house has been under construction for more than a year and was only weeks away from completion at the time of the fire.

The large garages used to house the fire trucks suffered only minor smoke and water damage. Officials could not say how long the opening of the station would be delayed.

All 39 on-duty Santa Monica firefighters were called to the scene to combat the flames that torched their new home. They were joined by six firefighters from Los Angeles Fire Department Station 63 in Venice Beach.

LAFD also provided mutual aid for the rest of the city, and answered a small number of minor calls for assistance during the fire, SMFD spokeswoman Jill Barnes said.

Nobody was in the building when the fire broke out, and the fire department did not have any equipment stored at the station.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 23, 2002.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/042302.pdf?ref=smdp.com)