Petaluma firefighters extinguished a small fire early Saturday morning at an eastside home where residents were conducting a marijuana growing operation. The fire, first reported at 5:48 a.m., was caused by an electrical short circuit, officials said.
"It appears they were taking power prior to the meter and something let go and caused the fire," said Battalion Chief Phil Sutsos.
The home was at 1525 Yarberry Drive in the Meadow School neighborhood. Sutsos said it was contained to the corner of the garage where the electrical service was located, and that it took about 10 minutes to put out.
But he said firefighters had to wait for a crew from PG&E to arrive to turn off electrical service to the house because the short circuit had caused electrical arcing underground. He said the underground arcing could clearly be heard.
"It shorted out somewhere prior to the main disconnect in the house and so what happened is it traveled back the wire underground," Sutsos said. "We couldn't do any extensive overhaul because of the electrical issue under the ground."
After PG&E shut power off to the house, firefighters were able to complete their work and ensure that no burning embers had spread through the structure. The fire caused about $15,000 worth of damage to the home, he said.
Sutsos said the residents were not cited for any criminal violations and that PG&E was investigating the electrical wiring issue.
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