1 Hurt, 12 Displaced in 2nd of Two Fires at Vacaville Apartment Building

VACAVILLE (CBS SF) -- One person suffered smoke inhalation and 12 people were displaced Saturday afternoon in a fire that caused serious damage to a 12-unit apartment building in Vacaville, the city's fire chief said.

Investigators are trying to determine whether that Saturday afternoon fire was directly related to a smaller fire in the same building reported about 8:10 a.m. Saturday that firefighters had put out in relatively short order

"We don't know if the two (fires) are directly related; we still have to do the investigation on that," said Vacaville Fire Chief Kris Concepcion. Neither fire's cause had been established by Saturday night, he said.

Both fires were at the Alamo Gardens apartments at 1501 Alamo Drive, in southern Vacaville. The 8:10 a.m. was controlled quickly, Concepcion said.

The fire department got another call at about noon about smoke at that same building, but Concepcion said no flames were found.

Then at 4:10 p.m., firefighters responded to the Alamo Gardens yet again, this time for what grew into a three-alarm fire consuming the building's common attic. The fire was under control in about 30 minutes, Concepcion said, but not before it destroyed two apartments, and smoke damaged two others.

However, because firefighters had to cut through the ceiling and walls to fight the fire, 12 residents of 10 occupied apartments were displaced, Concepcion said.

Altogether, about 50 firefighters from the Vacaville, Fairfield, Dixon and the nearby California Medical Facility (state prison) helped fight the blaze.

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