The State - News from July 15, 1988

A fire inspector said that Safeway Stores may have violated fire codes in Richmond by stacking flammable paper products too close to hot ceiling lights, resulting in the expensive blaze that destroyed a company warehouse. Meanwhile, Safeway officials said that 400 to 500 warehouse workers and truckers whose jobs were put in limbo by the fire would receive layoff notices. Teamsters Local 315, which represents most of the grocery warehouse employees, said it is advising jobless members to apply for worker’s compensation. A union official said the members are calm about the layoffs because they know the fire was “something that couldn’t be avoided.” Fire officials have not yet determined the cause of the fire, which Safeway officials said resulted in as much as $60 million in damages. The exact dollar loss has not been determined because officials have not been able to enter the smoldering remains of the 520,000-square-foot warehouse.