A three-alarm fire damaged a music rehearsal studio business Thursday evening.
The fire broke out at 8:05 p.m. on the second floor at California Rehearsal Studios, 2565 Cloverdale Ave. The business, located off Detroit Avenue, is located in a light industrial area dominated by single-story warehouse-style office buildings.
The 15,000-square-foot business, which houses 17 recording studios, is used by a number of East Bay musicians, several of whom had equipment inside the building at the time of the fire.
John MacDougall, a drummer for the band Enemy of Life, said at least eight bands were in the studio rehearsing.
“We were practicing, and then we were getting ready to lock up, when our bassist ran in and said there was a fire,” MacDougall said.
“We started kicking in doors, telling people about the fire. We got out, but all of our gear is still inside.”
He said he thought the fire might have started in one of the upstairs studios, which was unoccupied.
Contra Costa firefighters responded with at least 13 engines and trucks and battled the blaze for nearly two hours before it was brought under control. Fire Battalion Chief Steve Maiero confirmed that the blaze started on the second floor. Damage estimates were not immediately available Thursday night, but the blaze was contained to about 20 percent of the structure, mostly to the roof and northern end of the building. There were no injuries, and the cause is under investigation.Speakers, drums and an assortment of instruments sat outside the building in a puddle of water. A pair of drumsticks and a studded belt, rescued from the blaze, lay on top of an amplifier.
West Coast 911 firefighting news source – The Contra Costa Times
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