City Declines Help From ATF in Santana Row Fire
As a massive fire gutted Santana Row, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms offered its national response team to help determine the cause, but city officials declined the offer.
Weeks after the Aug. 19 blaze, fire officials still don’t know what started it. The fire caused more than $50 million in damage to the retail and residential development and left 71 people homeless.
“We felt there was nothing this team could do that we couldn’t do ourselves,” said Fire Capt. Mark Mooney. But, he said, had he understood exactly how much help the ATF could have lent, he probably would have accepted the offer.
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