Second Fire in Less Than 24 Hours Keeps Responders Busy

Firefighters have a saying: Fires come in threes.

Less than 24 hours after firefighters extinguished a blaze near Miwok Elementary that destroyed a family’s home, they were racing to another incident on Sixth Street shortly before 5 o’clock this morning.

The cause of the fire in the 200 block of Sixth Street is still under investigation but is believed to have been caused by a laundry basket that was too close to a furnace in the garage or by a heater malfunction that was “accelerated” by the nearby clothes.

No one was injured in the fire, but two residents were displaced. Responders were assisted when a hole in the melted plastic water pipe acted as a sprinkler
over the fire area in the garage, Battalion Chief Jeff Holden said.

Cal Fire, Rancho Adobe, Lakeville, San Antonio and Wilmar also responded to the scene.

Fire officials remind residents to keep papers, clothes, furniture, shoes and all other items at least 30 inches away from heaters.