Another night with multiple fire incidents….

Fire crews responded to several fires yesterday afternoon and evening:

En 4:46pm crews from Pleasant Hill, Pacheco, Martinez, Walnut Creek, and Concord responded to a reported structure fire at 615 Little Lane in Pleasant Hill. Arriving units found smoke and flames showing from the eaves of a two unit townhome. Crews made a coordinated attack from the interior, the exterior and rooftop to confine and extinguish the fire. Crews were successful in confining the fire to the walls and attic of one of the two units while simultaneously salvaging all of the home’s contents to prevent fire and water damage to the contents. Smoke alarms were working in the home and assisted in notification to the occupants. No citizen or firefighter injuries were reported. Fire crews were committed to this incident for 2 hours. The residents in the affected unit declined temporary housing from the Red Cross and the resident of the second unit was able to return to his home once fire crews and PG&E cleared it of all hazards. The cause of the fire is undetermined, but most likely accidental. Damage estimates were not available.

At just after 6pm, fire crews from El Sobrante and San Pablo responded to assist the Rodeo-Hercules Fire District with a residential structure fire in a home on Myrna Way in Rodeo. Our crews were committed until approximately 7:30pm on this incident.

A few minutes after 10pm, an exterior fire was reported in the 3600 block of Longview Road in Antioch. Fire crews from Pittsburg and Antioch responded to this fire and the first arriving crew found a vehicle on fire next to a home with power lines down in the area. Fire crews were able to get between the vehicle fire and the home and prevent any extension of the fire to the home. The fire was brought under control in 10 minutos, but crews were committed for about an hour for overhaul and mop-up of the fire. There were no injuries reported in this incident.

En 10:43 pm a structure fire was reported at 2756 Argyll Avenue in Concord. Fire crews from Concord, Pacheco, Pleasant Hill, and Walnut Creek arrived at an apartment complex to find a detached multi-garage structure, with seven of the ten garages fully involved. The fire was spreading to the remaining three garages, surrounding vegetation and a nearby apartment complex. First arriving crews were able to hold the fire off from spreading to the exposures until more firefighters arrived. Ultimately the fire was contained to the structure of origin and no other structures were damaged. Crews remained on scene for over 4 hours to completely extinguish the fire and assist the owners with salvaging their belongings. A fire investigator was called to the scene and the cause of the fire is under investigation. Damage was estimated at approximately $100,000. No citizen or firefighter injuries were reported. Fire crews were back out at the scene on Saturday morning with heavy equipment from the Fire District overhauling the structure and removing debris.

“The fires in the 10 o’clock hour demonstrate the current ability of the Fire District to respond to multiple fires at the same time over a geographically dispersed area. Last night we had twelve fire crews committed on two incidents for an extended period of time while still meeting the needs of providing emergency response in all of our communities with the remaining sixteen fire crews. This depth of resources is critical to meeting the ongoing needs of emergency services during larger incidents that occur frequently in the Fire District,” stated Fire Marshal Lewis Broschard. “Our commitment of resources in the West County areas earlier in the day is an example of the close working relationship we have with our automatic aid and mutual aid partners in West County,” Broschard added.

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