Equipment-Room Fire Knocks KESQ Thousand Palms Studio Off Air During Morning Newscast; No Injuries Reported
A fire broke out at about 5:03 a.m. on Thursday, October 15, at the KESQ television studios in the 31200 block of Dunham Way in Thousand Palms, Riverside County. According to Cal Fire's Riverside County unit, the first firefighters on scene found a small fire at the rear of the building, and it was contained at about 5:25 a.m. Cal Fire and the station both said no one was injured.
The Desert Sun reported that the station's 5 a.m. newscast had been on the air for only about 30 seconds when the fire alarm sounded. Chief meteorologist Patrick Evans opened a door behind the studio and found flames reaching the ceiling in an adjacent equipment room, where cameras and lithium batteries are stored. Anchor Jeff Stahl sprayed the flames with a fire extinguisher before the building's sprinkler system activated.
The fire stayed confined to equipment cages behind the main studio, but smoke spread through the building and sprinklers ran for about 45 minutes, soaking cameras and other equipment. Firefighters initially requested a second alarm, then canceled it before the additional crews arrived. KESQ left the air after the interruption, switched to network programming, and returned to the air at noon Thursday. Crews remained at the building for several hours for salvage and overhaul work.
The cause of the fire and the extent of the damage had not been determined as of publication, and fire officials had issued no further statement.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 千棕榈及棕榈泉一带航拍资料图，Northwalker 摄，CC0（公共领域），经 Wikimedia Commons 发布 / Aerial view of the Thousand Palms and Palm Springs area (data photo), by Northwalker, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
