Fire razes 1-million-sq-ft medical supply warehouse in Tracy

Firefighters continued battling a massive blaze on Friday that destroyed a one-million-square-foot medical supply warehouse in Tracy, California, after the fire erupted the previous afternoon. The destruction of the Medline Industries distribution facility, a key supplier to hospitals nationwide, was exacerbated by a failure of the building's private fire suppression systems, officials said.

The fire was reported around 1 p.m. on Thursday, June 11, at the facility on Promontory Parkway. When crews arrived, they found heavy fire on the roof. Fire Chief Randall Bradley of the South San Joaquin County Fire Authority said the building was fully engulfed within 30 to 40 minutes. High winds, high temperatures, and low humidity created difficult conditions, but the primary hindrance was a lack of water. The building's sprinkler system did not activate, and hydrants on the property lacked adequate water pressure.

Deputy Chief Brian Bagley confirmed the sprinkler system had been tested by an outside company in January with no issues found. The water supply problem appeared to be isolated to the facility's private system, as city-operated hydrants functioned correctly. The failure...