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A fire caused major damage to a unit at the Civic Square Apartments complex in Pleasanton on Monday evening, leading to other residents who live in the same building to be displaced, according to the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department.
"We did have a conversation with the gentleman that was there at the time and the fire was a result of cooking," LPFD battalion chief Daniel Moyles told the Weekly on Tuesday. "I'll keep the specifics out, but (he) stated that he was cooking at the time that the fire started."
One resident was transported to the hospital after sustaining minor injuries, Moyles later stated in a LPFD press release on Tuesday. He said that 10 residents who lived in the same building where the second-floor apartment caught on fire were displaced due to fire and water damage – checking into a hotel for a couple of days with the help of the American Red Cross.
The LPFD, along with the Alameda County Fire Department and the Pleasanton Police Department, responded to reports of a fire at the apartment complex at 4890 Bernal Ave. at around 6:51 p.m. on New Year's Day, Moyles said.
Moyles said that as the first units were approaching Civic Square, they noticed that the fire's smoke column was darker than usual, which indicates that it was structural fire, which led the responding fire captain to declare it as a working fire.
When Moyles arrived, he saw the heavy fire coming from the two-story apartment building, assumed command and declared a second alarm to call more units to the scene. He said he did this because they weren't sure if the fire was going to spread through the shared attic space in the adjacent apartment, which could make it an even bigger fire.
But after declaring the second alarm, Moyles said that they began receiving updates that the fire was not extending through the attic and they began canceling the additional resources coming out of Dublin and Livermore. He said in total, eight fire engines and three fire trucks were out there that night and were able to put out the fire in 20 minutes.
Crews then went into what's known as overhaul mode, which is when firefighters go inside the building and extinguish "potential hot spots". That means they would move furniture such as couches outside and they would start opening the walls and removing the ceiling sheetrock to make sure there are no more pieces of charred wood and that everything gets hosed down with water to avoid any further fires.
"Once everything's really opened up, and we put a big hit of water on it, that's when the captains come through with their thermal cameras and are looking for hotspots or areas of concern and that's what we'll focus on until we don't have any," Moyles said.
According to LPFD management analyst Rosa Ramos, apart from the one apartment unit that sustained fire damage, two other units had also sustained water damage. Moyles also said that the apartment across from the one that was on fire is closed off because that's where firefighters had to poke holes in the ceiling to make sure the fire didn't extend through the attic.
Moyles said the department will be conducting a joint investigation with PPD on what exactly caused the fire and when the building is safe to enter.
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