Firework Blazes Keep Bay Area Firefighters Busy
OAKLEY (CBS SF) – Firefighters were forced to battle at least three fires ignited by fireworks Monday night, including an Oakley blaze that sent two people to the hospital.
According to the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District, the blaze broke out at 9:21 p.m. in the 600 block of Honey Lane.
PG&E crews had to shut off high-voltage power lines in the area as firefighters worked to contain the blaze.
Although the fire only caused minimal damage to a home before it was extinguished, two people had to be taken to a hospital because of smoke inhalation, according to the fire district.
While fireworks were believe to be a possible cause of the blaze, Oakley police will determine the exact cause of the fire.
In Vallejo, fireworks that were improperly extinguished started a one-alarm fire at a residence in Vallejo early this Tuesday morning.
Officials said the fire was reported at 1:15 a.m. in the 100 block of Dieninger Street near Griffin Drive.
Vallejo Fire Department fire Engineer Anthony Shair-Ali said the residents used the fireworks Monday night and left improperly extinguished ones still in packaging against an exterior garage wall of the residence.
Firefighters contained the fire to the garage. A ceiling inside the home to be pulled down to make sure flames did not spread.
Two adults and a child were displaced and the American Red Cross responded to find temporary housing.
Meanwhile, what started as a grass fire possibly caused by fireworks Sunday night turned into a 12-hour attempt to completely knock down a blaze that slowly scorched construction supplies in Brentwood.
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The fire kept all of the East Contra Costa Fire Protect District's crews busy until 4 a.m. Monday and aused around $100,000 in damage because the blaze was burning through stacks of a company's building materials, Fire Chief Hugh Henderson said.
The fire began around 10 p.m. Sunday with 100 feet of vegetation on both sides of Marsh Creek Trail burning near Hanson Lane. What grew to a 2-acre fire in an open field on Elkins Way then spread to a nearby supply yard belonging to Town & Country Roofing & Solar.
The fire was contained within an hour, but it took around 12 hours to extinguish the fire in the supply yard because of the presence of combustibles, Henderson said.
Fireworks are suspected to be the cause of the original vegetation fire.
The fire served as a climax to a busy Sunday for the fire district. The district received 36 calls throughout the day and had to rely on other agencies to answer at least 10 of them.
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