Oceanside CA— Sunday night, January 3, 2015, at 9:50 pm, a resident reported a fire in their garage in the 700 block of Point Cabrillo.
Four adult females were in the single family residence at the time of the fire, three of whom are deaf. The caller reported to the dispatcher that smoke was seen coming from the garage into the house.
The first fire unit arrived just over five minutes after dispatch and found black smoke coming from the garage, eaves and roof vents of the house.
Officers from the Oceanside Police Department had arrived just before the fire department and confirmed for the fire crews that all of the residents had successfully evacuated the house. Fire crews pulled attack lines inside the residence and made entry into the garage where they extinguished a small fire.
The volume of material stored in the garage precluded making the attack through the exterior garage door. Additional crews laddered the roof and cut a hole to let the smoke and hot gasses out.
The fire was declared under control 16 minutes after arrival. The house was occupied by three deaf females, along with the mother of one occupant who was in town visiting for the holidays.
None of the occupants or any of the fire and police responders suffered any injuries during the incident. Since the house was uninhabitable after the fire, the Red Cross was called to assist in finding temporary housing for the occupants.
The flames caused moderate damage to the garage and adjacent roof area. There was also smoke damage throughout the inside of the structure. Damage has been estimated at $15,000.
An investigator from the Oceanside Fire Department responded to the scene in order to determine the cause of the fire. While the investigation is ongoing, the cause currently appears to be accidental with the fire originating in the part of the garage where two of the occupants had recently been smoking.
A total of 20 fire personnel responded with 4 Engines, 1 Truck, 1 Ambulance, 1 Investigator and two Chiefs including one Battalion Chief from Vista Fire Department.