Fire causes $450,000 in damage to Santa Rosa home, displaces family

The family discovered the blaze in the garage after hearing an explosion, officials said.|
MADISON SMALSTIG
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

A fire caused about $450,000 in damage to a Santa Rosa house and displaced a family of three Tuesday night, according to firefighters.

The Santa Rosa Fire Department was dispatched about 5:50 p.m. to report of an explosion and fire inside a garage at a house in the 2400 block of Quail Hollow Drive, according to a news release from the department.

The family discovered the fire after hearing the explosion in the garage. They evacuated the house, called 911 and attempted to put out the fire themselves, the fire department said.

Neighbors joined the family in trying to squash the flames with one man getting on the roof of a nearby house and spraying the flames using a garden hose, said Santa Rosa Fire Battalion Chief Matt Gloeckner.

“He was definitely able to prevent any embers from falling on the house,” Gloeckner said, referring to the neighboring residence.

When firefighters arrived on scene, they found flames coming out of the two-story home’s garage and fire stretching up through the walls into the attic. A vehicle in driveway was also on fire, Gloeckner said.

*2-Alarm Structure Fire - Quail Hallow Drive* At 5:52 PM last night, Santa Rosa Fire responded for a report a garage fire on Quail Hallow Drive. Additional 911 calls were received by the REDCOM Dispatch center reporting a house on fire with a large amount of fire coming from the garage and an explosion heard. The first Santa Rosa Fire engine arrived on scene in approximately 5 minutes to find a two-story, single-family house with heavy fire coming from the front of the garage. The fire had extended up into the walls and into the attic of the home. Fire was also impinging on a neighbor’s house to the west of the residence. A second alarm assignment was requested to the scene. Fire crews began an aggressive interior and exterior attack of the fire in combination with ventilating the roof of the structure to remove smoke and heat from the house. Fire crews performed a search of the first and second floor of the home and found no one to be home. Quick, aggressive actions by the first due firefighters saved the home to the west that was threatened. Firefighters used salvage covers and other salvage techniques to save many of the belongings inside the home. The fire was brought under control in approximately 45 minutes, but crews remained on scene for nearly four hours afterward to mop up hot spots and investigate the fire. The residents of the house were home at the time of the fire. The residents heard an explosion and opened the door from the house into the garage to investigate the noise and found a well-developed fire burning in their garage. The residents evacuated the house, called 911 and attempted to extinguish the fire from an exterior door leading into the garage but were unsuccessful. The garage, roof and second floor of the home suffered major fire damage. The first floor of the home suffered major water and smoke damage. The family living at the residence, consisting of 2 adults and an adult son, were displaced by the fire, and are staying with family. The cause of the fire is under investigation but appears accidental. Damage is estimated to be $450,000. RESPONSE: 6 Engines, 2 Trucks, 1 Air Support Unit, 2 Chief Officers, 2 Fire Investigators & 1 Ambulance

Posted by City of Santa Rosa Fire Department on Wednesday, December 14, 2022

Firefighters contained the fire in 45 minutes and stayed on scene for about four hours extinguishing hot spots, the department said.

The garage, roof and first and second floors of the house had major fire damage. Two vehicles in the garage were destroyed by the flames and the vehicle in the driveway was damaged, Gloeckner said.

No injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Firefighters have not determined the cause of the explosion, Gloeckner said.

The Sonoma County Fire District and Gold Ridge Fire District assisted in putting out the blaze.

You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at madison.smalstig@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @madi.smals.

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