By Neil Farrell
What was a cute, albeit tiny house in North Morro Bay, was destroyed by fire Wednesday night, and caused some minor injuries to the elderly woman who lived there.
According to Fire Chief Steve Knuckles, the fire department responded at about 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7 to the home in the 2500 block of Greenwood Ave. When they arrived flames were shooting out of a front window high into the air.
By coincidence, the fire department was conducting drills that night and had plenty of personnel on hand for the response. MBFD’s three engines were joined by engines from Cayucos Fire and Cal Fire in Los Osos. All told five engines responded with some 25 firefighters.
“Upon arrival,” said Chief Knuckles, “the first unit on scene reported heavy flames seen from the front of the structure, with flame lengths reaching over 20 feet above the roof of the structure.”
The fire burned through the electrical line serving the house and that wire was still live and scorched a wooden fence in front. That danger kept firefighters from getting too close and they initially sprayed water on the fire from some distance away. Eventually they combined several hoses on the main blaze and drenched it.
Several surrounding homes were evacuated as a precaution, as in this neighborhood homes are very close together. No other homes were damaged. The resident, whose name was not released, initially tried to battle the fire but was able to get out suffering from minor smoke inhalation.
Chief Knuckles said the fire destroyed 95% of property inside the residence. Approximately $250,000 in structure loss, $20,000 loss of contents, as well as approximately $750,000 in property saved on the neighboring structures. The City Building Department officials inspected and “red tagged” the house as a total loss. There was one area in the back that didn’t burn but did have extensive smoke damage. There may be items in that area that can be salvaged but most everything else was lost. The home will have to be torn down.
The Fire Department is taking the opportunity to encourage everyone to be sure to maintain a “fire safe home.” Smoke alarms that are properly installed and maintained play a vital role in reducing fire deaths and injuries.
