Fire destroys building used by homeless near St. Eugene’s Catholic Church in Santa Rosa

A fire erupted early Monday in a large, boarded-up building used by transients near St. Eugene’s Catholic Church, sparing the Santa Rosa church but nearly destroying the adjacent structure to the east.

The cause of the fire was under investigation. There was no power to the 16,000-square-foot building, an L-shaped structure with a stucco exterior and tile roof just a few yards from the St. Eugene’s parking lot.

The windows and doors were barricaded shut, but firefighters saw evidence that transients had been living in the building for quite some time, Battalion Chief Jason Gloeckner said. Homeless people have started numerous warming fires near the church property, which abuts Santa Rosa Creek.

The building, owned by a San Jose developer, may have once been used by nuns or as a school dormitory at some point, Assistant Fire Marshal Ian Hardage said.

Monday’s fire was reported just before 5 a.m. Flames had already burned through the roof by the time firefighters arrived, Battalion Chief Matt Dahl said. A second alarm to bring additional firefighters and equipment was requested because of the intensity and volume of the fire and the obstructions to the interior, he said.

Firefighters used power tools to remove plywood from the windows and force open the doors to access the bulk of the fire, Dahl said.

Large-volume water hoses and a ladder truck were used to extinguish the flames from the outside until it was safe for firefighters to enter the building to search for occupants. The fire was under control in about two hours.

No one was found inside.

Firefighters closed Montgomery Drive between Hahman Drive and Farmers Lane as they fought to gain entry into the structure. Flames significantly damaged the structural framing in about half the building, Dahl said, and it appeared to be at risk of collapse.

City construction crews later knocked down the hazardous sections of the building so that firefighters could ensure that the fire was completely extinguished.

“We did have to take down portions of the building itself because of the fire damage and impending collapse of the walls,” Hardage said. “There was structural integrity issues with the exterior walls so we had those pulled down before they could fall on anybody.”

Damage to the building was estimated at about $400,000. Sonoma County property records show the building was last valued at $558,546 last year.

Hardage said the building’s owner was putting together a plan to either secure the structure in its current state or finish demolishing it.

“My recommendation was to secure it up,” Hardage said. “It’s unsafe the way it is now.”

The building is owned by Barry Swenson, a real estate development company in San Jose. Swenson received city permission more than 15 years ago to build 140 market-rate condos and 25 low-income units in what was to be called Creekside Village, facing Montgomery Drive from St. Eugene’s to the Maria Carrillo Adobe.

But the property has never been developed.

The crumbling adobe, called Santa Rosa’s “first house,” is on the eastern end of the property and wasn’t affected by Monday’s fire. The developer agreed to preserve the structure when it sought permission to build on the 15-acre plot.

You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 707-521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @loriacarter.