A fire heavily damaged the Santa Maria Supply store early Saturday morning, impacting the longtime family-owned agricultural business.
Santa Maria firefighters responded to the fire at the business in the 500 block of South Blosser Road.
“There was a total of 35 firefighters that responded to this particular incident,” said Santa Maria Fire Chief Brad Dandridge. “We only have 23 firefighters within the City of Santa Maria, so we relied on our adjacent fire departments to provide assistance.”
Chief Dandridge said crews faced difficult conditions once they entered the building, making it difficult to move through the structure.
“They had to force entry into the building, and once they made access, they encountered high, heavy-pile storage,” Dandridge said.
The facility was reportedly being used to store farm equipment.
According to Chief Dandridge, two firefighters were injured while battling the fire. One suffered minor injuries, while the other was taken to the hospital for further evaluation. He said the firefighter has since returned home and is recovering.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Dandridge said investigators believe it may have started somewhere inside the building.
The owners of Santa Maria Supply were at the business Monday but declined to comment.
For some community members, seeing the business destroyed brought back memories of another fire at the same location.
Maria Sanchez, a community member, said she remembered a fire at the property more than two decades ago.
“About 20-something years ago, it burned down. It was a thrift store, part of it burned, and they closed it for quite some time,” Sanchez said.
For longtime Santa Maria Supply customers, the damage means losing a convenient place to purchase equipment and supplies on the go.
Victor Gomez, a customer, said finding another store with the same selection could be difficult.
“It’s going to be a little complicated because, honestly, I don’t know of any other stores that had everything you needed for work like this one,” Gomez said.
In a social media post, Santa Maria Supply said it will continue assisting customers through its online services. The owners said they are determining what comes next and looking for ways to continue serving the community.
Chief Dandridge said the Santa Maria Fire Department works with businesses through its fire prevention department, including conducting commercial inspections.
“Our fire prevention department goes and conducts business inspections, commercial business inspections, to ensure that the businesses that we go to and respond to are safe, not only for the community but for the firefighters,” Dandridge said.
