Fire partially burns closed Santa Rosa senior center

Firefighters knocked down the early Thursday morning fire in about an hour.|
KATHLEEN COATES
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

An early morning fire that burned part of the closed Bennett Valley Senior Center in Santa Rosa Thursday was likely the result of “homeless activities,” according to a Santa Rosa fire official.

The two-alarm fire started about 4:30 a.m., it took firefighters about an hour to knock it down and they were there an additional three hours cleaning up, according to Santa Rosa Fire Division Chief Paul Lowenthal.

“We don’t have an exact cause but it was most likely related to homeless activities on the roof,” he said. He did not elaborate on the kinds of activities.

The fire started on the roof in a concealed area, then burned into the attic, Lowenthal said. Santa Rosa city workers were working to secure the building where firefighters had to cut through to get to the fire and extinguish it, he added.

No one was found inside the building and no injuries were reported. The fire caused about $200,000 worth of damage to the building, according to a news release.

2-Alarm Structure Fire - Bennett Valley Road* At 4:38AM, Santa Rosa Fire was dispatched to a reported roof on fire at the former Bennett Valley Senior Center located at 704 Bennett Valley Road. While enroute Redcom Dispatch Center began to receive multiple reports of fire coming from the roof of the center. The first firefighters arrived on scene in under 4 minutes to find heavy fire coming from the roof in the middle of the building that had previously housed the Bennett Valley Senior Center. The building no longer housed a senior center and was boarded up and not in use at the time of the fire. The property was also fenced with construction fencing. A second alarm was requested to the scene and Santa Rosa Fire Department firefighters initiated a defensive fire attack on the building due to the age of the building, the condition of the building and the amount of fire coming from the attic and center portion of the building. A ladder truck was positioned and extended its elevated water way which was then placed in use to knock down the fire from above the building. Fire crews forced open the boarded-up windows and doors on the building to extinguish the fire from the outside using hose lines. Once the fire was knocked down fire crews entered the building and searched it for possible occupants. No occupants were found inside the building. Fire crews contained the fire in approximately 1 hour. Fire crews remained on scene for approximately 3 more hours where they performed heavy labor-intensive overhaul of the building to extinguish all the hot spots and investigate the fire. Damage to the structure was estimated to be $200,000. There were no injuries reported. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The fire originated in a concealed area on the roof and burned from the roof down into the attic and interior of the structure.

Posted by City of Santa Rosa Fire Department on Thursday, October 20, 2022

Only about 10-15% of the building was burned, he estimated.

The response included six engines, two ladder trucks, two battalion chiefs and a fire investigator, he said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The city-owned center, which has been boarded up and fenced off for years, is located at 704 Bennett Valley Road.

You can reach Staff Writer Kathleen Coates at kathleen.coates@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5209.

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