Santa Rosa Homeless Encampment Fire Ignites Blaze At Nearby Auto Body Shop
SANTA ROSA (CBS SF) -- An early morning fire at a Santa Rosa homeless encampment quickly spread Thursday to a nearby auto body shop, damaging the exterior of the building and burning cars inside before it was brought under control, authorities said.
Fire officials said they received a call at 1:18 a.m. reporting the blaze on Frazier Ave. and Lotus Ct. Arriving firefighters discovered the blaze had jumped from the homeless encampment to nearby shrubbery and was scorching the side of an auto body shop.
The spread of the blaze was slowed by the metal clad commercial building. Once entry was made into the building, fire crews aggressively extinguished the blaze that had spread into the garage. Multiple cars and a large number of tools and equipment were burning inside.
No one was at the business at the time of the fire. No injuries were reported at the homeless encampment or among the firefighters.
The blaze was contained in about 30 minutes. The auto body shop suffered significant smoke, heat and fire damage. Damage to the building is estimated to be $400,000 with approximately an additional loss of $50,000 worth of contents.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation.
