One week after a fire destroyed Medline Industries' 1-million-square-foot medical supplies warehouse in Tracy, an employee is speaking out about what they describe as confusion, fear, and a lack of evacuation plans. Jasmine "Jas" Caceres, a Medline employee in the receiving department, spoke with CBS News Sacramento about their experience on the day of the fire. Caceres was at the end of their shift when they heard someone yelling about smoke.
"We were all frantic, like, we need to get out of here… The fire alarm didn't go off yet," Caceres said.
Moments later, the alarm began flashing, Caceres said.
"I was already instantly scared because it's like fire, I know what type of products are in there. Everything is super hazardous in there. There are a lot of flammable products, a lot of it on the box say flammable. So, to me, it was already like a red flag," Caceres said.About three dozen employees, by Caceres' estimate, made their way to the parking lot on one side of the facility. At this time, all they could see was the growing column of black smoke above the building.
It appeared the roof was on fire and it was spreading across the top, although Caceres said employees had already witnessed boxes inside the warehouse burning. As the fire burned through the building, Caceres said what appeared to be Medline managers outside of their department insisted employees stay on scene. As the smoke burned through the warehouse, the group of employees would be moved further away, but still inside the property line behind locked gates.
"I felt trapped, like there was nowhere for us to go," Caceres said.
There was confusion among employees attempting to leave the property and move further away from the fire. The exit gates were not open as the fire broke out, and some employees were forced to leave behind their vehicles in the parking lot.
"I did express to them, 'Why did you guys hold us in here?' The fire is active, and it was super hot and we were exposed to the smoke," Caceres said. "I feel like they should have evacuated us immediately."
Caceres said as the plume of smoke grew, so did the chaos. They witnessed some workers crying, as well as people attempting to climb over the gate. Ultimately, nearly an hour after the fire started, a gate opened and some employees were able to drive out in their cars.
"I could hear things popping, things exploding, glass breaking," said Caceres, describing what it was like being told employees couldn't leave the premises.
It's still unclear if this was part of an evacuation protocol to ensure all employees on site were accounted for. Caceres told CBS News Sacramento that at one point, they were told a head count would take place, but it never did.
"This is a [multi-billion dollar] company. They could take care of us a little bit better," Caceres said. In the days following the fire, Medline Industries has put out guidance for employees, including how to retrieve vehicles left on the property. Thursday afternoon, CBS News Sacramento was on site as multiple employees attempted to pick up their cars, now parked outside of the warehouse fence line. More information has been revealed about the initial fire response, including that the private fire suppression system failed.
Crews battling the fire were initially met with water supply issues that limited their efforts to put out the flames. Fire officials said it was unclear whether the sprinkler system inside the facility was operating properly when they arrived at the facility.
Fire crews attempted to use fire hydrants within the facility, but noted that they lacked adequate pressure.
"We need some answers. What happened? Why didn't the fire sprinklers activate? Why wasn't there any water pressure in the fire hydrants on site? Why were we instructed to stay on the property even though there was a fire?" Caceres said.
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health says that it is looking into the fire as part of an inspection opened just three days before the fire.
Meanwhile, Caceres says they do not feel safe to go back to work: "I still am scared. I have really bad anxiety. I feel like everywhere I go, I'm wondering, 'Where is the nearest emergency exit? Are there fire sprinklers? What if there is a fire?' "Caceres said they are speaking out with these concerns and questions as a way to get answers from Medline Industries and highlight some of the gaps in the company's emergency response, so this doesn't happen again. CBS News Sacramento reached out to Medline Industries and did not hear back.
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