Dumbarton fire recalled 20 years later

Schapelhouman, who at the time was an acting battalion chief, said he recently decided to release further details and photos from that night as renewed focus narrows in on the structure’s role in the future. Owned by the San Mateo County Transit District, the agency last month finalized a study that proposes rehabilitating the defunct bridge and reinstating rail along the Bay’s southernmost crossing.

“We never told that story and we never released the pictures and part of that was because of the investigation,” Schapelhouman said. “But what’s interesting, is what was old is going to be new again.”

Built in 1910 as a single-track line to ship goods from the East Bay to San Francisco, the structure was used from 1912 to 1982 and now sits stagnant just south of the car bridge between East Palo Alto and Newark.

Looking back two decades, Schapelhouman recalled an hourslong fight from both land and sea as firefighters navigated unfavorable conditions to extinguish the flames on the railroad trestle. They were up against a fire that overwhelmed 1,766 feet of heavy timber soaked in a preservative and known carcinogen called Creosote, according to the district.

“The oddity of having a railroad trestle on fire over water was unique and challenging and definitely frustrating,” Schapelhouman said, before noting his first reaction when he arrived on scene. “I couldn’t believe it. I thought, there’s no way this whole thing is on fire. But, in our business, you get a split second to be in shock and awe, then you’ve got to do something.”

The cause of the fire has never been determined and it was eventually ruled as suspicious. Much of the evidence, including clues as to where the blaze first originated, was scorched before washing away into the Bay. Schapelhouman was working that night in 1998 and said he’s been reviewing old case files in preparation for the 100th anniversary of the fire district for which he’s worked for nearly 37 years.

“We never told that story and we never released the pictures and part of that was because of the investigation,” Schapelhouman said before conceding what caused the Dumbarton fire may never be known but there is information about what occurred that rainy night.

A 911 caller reported a fire just before 7 p.m. that rainy Saturday in an area responders initially thought was an abandoned building off University Avenue near the tip of East Palo Alto. But they quickly learned it was the bridge that was in fact on fire and crews began to establish a plan to attack it from both shore and the water, Schapelhouman said.

The toxic smoke prompted closure of the car bridge for several hours that night and complaints about air quality came from as far as Oakland.

Fire crews navigated gusty winds and rain as they laid out 4,000 feet of hose by hand to connect to the closest water supply. An air boat equipped with a floater pump was also deployed but things fell awry as an extremely low tide hampered their efforts. Soon, the area was little more than mud that the boat couldn’t navigate and dried up their source of water for firefighting efforts from the Bay, he said.

Like a Viking movie

As the timbers burned and began falling off the trestle, the night stretched into what Schapelhouman described as a scene from a Viking movie — smoldering pieces of wood began floating into the Bay stretching toward the north. But they were unable to chase after the pieces as their attention was still focused on the burning structure.

“It happened very quickly and there was very little we could do,” Schapelhouman said.

As night turned to day, firefighters switched shifts and a boat from San Francisco arrived to assist. Much of the fire had burned itself out or was extinguished, however, three days later they were still receiving calls about smoke. They eventually determined the fire had spread to the berm underneath the bridge near shore. Crews had to dig some 20 or 30 feet down to expose the smoldering timber and extinguish the destructive fire, Schapelhouman said.

The fire was eventually declared suspicious as investigators couldn’t determine how it originated. There was no lightning that night and no active electrical equipment near the unused bridge, he said.

“Whatever evidence we would have had to provide how it started, that’s gone,” he said. “Suspicious, that’s as far as you can go because you can’t say it’s an arson fire without a cause, and the evidence floated down the Bay.”

Long history, future use

But Schapelhouman is now hopeful that sharing the story and highlighting the history behind the bridge will inspire its reuse.

The structure spans one of the shortest portions of the Bay and is believed to have helped supply San Francisco with materials needed to rebuild following the 1906 earthquake and fire, Schapelhouman said. Now, more than a century later, it’s being considered in a regional effort to address traffic.

“They chose that route for a reason that still makes sense today,” Schapelhouman said, noting regional traffic demands solutions. “We’re affected daily by the traffic here and that affects us as first responders — our ability to move around and to timely get where we need to get to respond to a call.”

SamTrans and those looking to ease regional traffic woes have suggested repurposing the Dumbarton Rail Bridge. An initial study of various mobility options in the corridor suggests rehabbing the structure and creating a new commuter train. That $1.27 billion overhaul of the more than a century-old bridge could eventually connect Caltrain on the Peninsula to BART, Altamont Corridor Express and Capitol Corridor in the East Bay.

“We are at the early stages of using the corridor as a means of connecting rail transit on both sides of the Bay. We’re excited about what the Dumbarton Rail Bridge has to offer Bay Area residents in terms of increased mobility in the years to come,” Melissa Reggiardo, SamTrans’ principal planner, wrote in an email.

No funding has been identified for improvements that would likely involve multiple transit districts, cities, counties, the state and environmental agencies. Still, some are hopeful creating the first Bay rail crossing in 40 years will come to fruition.

Schapelhouman said the district has been commenting on the proposal he hopes will encourage more people to get out of their cars and onto mass transit.

While renewed focus has been on the bridge’s future, Schapelhouman has a clear memory of its past.

“It was sad,” Schapelhouman said. “It is the oldest bridge in the Bay and we had to watch it burn.”

samantha@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 106

Twitter: @samantha_weigel