Pet Dies, $150,000 Damage in House Fire on Stokes Court

 All Petaluma engines and battalion chief units responded to the blaze, which was called in by multiple neighbors, Medeiros said.

Medeiros gave the following account of the blaze:

"At 9:30 p.m., all Petaluma fire units responded to a reported structure fire in the garage of 203 Stokes Court.

"The dispatch center had received multiple calls to report the fire, he said.  The first arriving fire units found a single story duplex with the garage of unit 203 fully involved.

"The fire had extended to the living space of unit 203 and spread to the exterior of the adjacent unit 201. Petaluma fire crews quickly searched the home and made a fire attack to knock-down the fire and to protect the neighboring homes. 

"The fire was noticed and reported by a neighbor across the street that heard a popping sound and walked outside to find the fire coming from the garage of the residence.

"The residents of unit 203 were not home at the time of the fire. The neighboring residents of 201, home at the time, were able to evacuate their home safely prior to the arrival of the fire department.

"The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but is believed to be accidental,"  Medeiros said.

Damage to the home was estimated at $150,000 and one pet perished in the fire, he said.

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Although Medeiros did not mention in his report whether there were smoke detectors in the Stokes Court home, the Petaluma Fire Department attached the following warning message to the report on Saturday's fire: