The site of the former Fuqua Physical Therapy at 6560 Greenback Lane is near the corner of Dewey Drive and Greenback Lane.

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - The acrid smell of fire and ash hangs in the air around the site of the former Fuqua Physical Therapy at 6560 Greenback Lane, near the corner of Dewey Drive and Greenback Lane, where Sacramento Metro Fire crews responded in September 2023 to a multi-alarm fire just before 3 a.m., which ripped through the commercial building.

Boarded-up doors and a faded red tag label on an entry door posted by the City of Citrus Heights still mark the building “unsafe for occupancy.” Heavy fire damage to the building’s interior can be seen through some of the exterior windows.

“The fire displaced our therapists and staff and forced the relocation of hundreds of our patients to other locations,” said Eric Burger, vice-president of administrative services of parent company Burger Rehabilitation Systems, Inc., of Folsom, which bought Citrus Heights-based Fuqua Physical Therapy from its founder Charles Fuqua four years ago.

Burger Rehabilitation Systems has 14 locations, including Folsom, Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova and Roseville. Its outpatient clinic sites offer a wide range of physical, occupational and speech therapy services.

No injuries were reported at the time of the fire, and crews conducted a “rapid fire attack and search of the building,” Sacramento Metro Fire Capt. Jordan Oakes said in a press statement.

Oakes said crews initially responded to a call of a fire involving landscaping bark on the building’s exterior in 2023. Upon arrival, crews determined it was a commercial fire and then called for additional units, Oakes said.

“It’s not certain whether or not we will be able to reopen the Citrus Heights location at this time,” Burger said when. “It’s really in limbo, as the property insurance claim we promptly filed with our commercial insurance carrier still remains open and we may have to file suit against them.”

Burger described the extent of fire damage inside the building, which isn’t visible largely from ground level. The Citrus Heights clinic location was the target of previous fires allegedly set by the homeless around the building grounds.

“Metro Fire did a fantastic job in responding to the fire and putting it out quickly,” he said back in 2023. “There’s a hole about the size of a good-sized automobile in the roof of the building where Metro Fire ventilated the building to put the fire out,” he said.

The building, Burger recently said, is a “total loss” and will have to be rebuilt from the ground up.

The former Fuqua Physical Therapy site sits unused after the fire in September 2019.

“The interior of the building is largely open to the elements and major portions of the roof have since collapsed,” Burger said recently. “The exterior doors of the building have had to be secured multiple times since the fire by those whom we believe broke into the building and then lit candles inside. It has been an ongoing problem and multiple police reports have been filed with the Citrus Heights Police Department.”

The situation has drawn the attention of Citrus Heights code enforcement, which has been helpful and responsive since 2023 to the ongoing situation, he said.

“Citrus Heights Police Department is providing extra patrols to the property and, if necessary, citing and/or arresting individuals found on the premises,” Citrus Heights communications officer Marisa Brown recently said, providing a response to Burger’s concerns on behalf of the city’s code enforcement team.

“City code enforcement personnel monitors the property weekly to ensure there have been no breaches to the building’s boarding and that trash and debris are mitigated promptly,” she said.

Burger said he’s hopeful that Burger Rehabilitation Systems might be able to open a new clinic in Citrus Heights.

“It generally takes at least two to three years to build and staff a new practice once a new site is typically found,” he said. “Until then, local patients who call in to make their appointments are being referred promptly to our other local offices.”