Fireworks spark flames displacing seven seniors
Fireworks sparked a number of fires in East Contra Costa County over the holiday weekend.
Fireworks sparked a number of fires in East Contra Costa County over the holiday weekend.
Fireworks sparked a number of fires in East Contra Costa County during the Fourth of July holiday and may have caused a two-alarm blaze in Brentwood that displaced seven seniors, a fire chief said on Monday.
The two-alarm fire was reported around 11:40 p.m. Friday at a senior housing complex in the 100 block of Sycamore Avenue, according to East Contra Costa Fire Protection District Chief Hugh Henderson.
Crews arrived on the scene to find heavy fire coming from the back of a residential building housing four apartments. The seven residents living in the building were all able to evacuate safely and no injuries were reported.
Firefighters were able to get the blaze under control in about 30 minutes. The American Red Cross was on scene to aid the displaced residents.
Henderson said investigators are still probing what caused the fire and have not ruled out fireworks as a possible cause. He said:
“According to people in the area, there were lots of fireworks going off at the time.”
Henderson said the residential fire happened hours after several vegetation fires in Brentwood, Oakley and Bethel Island that were believed to be caused by fireworks. An estimate of damage caused by the Sycamore Avenue fire was not immediately available today.
— Laura Dixon, Bay City News
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