Watch CBS News

Nearly 1M Gallons Of Water Used To Fight Fire At Historic Stockton Hotel

STOCKTON (CBS13) – Building inspectors were already at the historic Earle Hotel a day after a massive fire tore through the building.

The inspectors will determine if the building is structurally sound, or if it has to be torn down.

According to information from the Stockton Fire Department, the ladder trucks who responded to fight the fire Wednesday used about 1,000 gallons a minute for eight straight hours on the roof – with the hoses used on the ground using about 250 gallons a minute.

That's about one million gallons of water used to put the fire out.

The building was built in 1914, but was boarded up due to code violations and a bat infestation back in 2001. Due to the financial struggles of the City of Stockton, officials decided it was more cost-efficient to keep the building intact and simply apply some maintenance to it rather than demolish or refurbish it.

Businesses around the hotel now want the building torn down and new businesses to come in.

"There's a lot of vacancies in this area, so if anybody would be interested in putting a business there that would be better for everybody," said Jayson Louie, owner of Louie's Market. "We want to see it reinvigorated somehow."

Firefighters who managed to get inside the building before it grew out of control say the building was filled with debris and trash from transients.

"I would like to see it [torn] down for the safety of everybody around here," said Denise Castles-Stenger from Keith's Trophy Supply. "It's been a place that has not been safe."

The Stockton Fire Department will spend most of the day at the building making sure no other hot spots flare up.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.