A three-alarm fire tore through a shoe factory next to Fullerton Municipal Airport on Wednesday, August 12, sending a column of black smoke over Fullerton, briefly shutting down the airport and forcing the evacuation of a nearby homeless services shelter.

No injuries were reported.

The Fullerton Fire Department received a call at 12:04 pm reporting a fire inside a building in the 3600 block of Commonwealth Avenue. The building houses Capri Shoes, which sits just outside airport property. About 25 employees were inside the building when they smelled a gas odor and heard explosions. The workers, who were in the front of the building away from where the fire started, evacuated safely.

The fire was reported near the airport’s intersection of Magnolia and Commonwealth avenues. Firefighters could be seen on the roof of the building spraying water down onto the flames. The Fullerton Airport was closed as a precaution because smoke was billowing across the final approach. The FAA said the airport was back in full operation as of 1:30 p.m.

The summer heat was the day’s biggest obstacle, straining crews working a stubborn fire.

That heat also complicated the evacuation at the Illumination Foundation Shelter nearby, where unhoused people in the recuperative care program were moved several blocks away and waited outdoors for the fire to be brought under control. Commonwealth Avenue was closed during the response.

Firefighters rescued several kittens in the area. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Photograph by Andrew Williams

Photograph by Andrew Williams

Photograph by Andrew Williams

Photograph by Andrew Williams