Fire Officials Release Cause of Danville Vegetation Fire

By AUTUMN JOHNSON

A contractor cutting rebar to build a retaining wall sparked a vegetation fire in Danville on Tuesday afternoon, San Ramon Valley Fire Inspector Natalie Probert said. The fire, which charred the dry hillside in the 400 block of El Alamo, near the Mt. Diablo Trail, is the third fire started as a result of “hot work operations” in the past few weeks.

“Contractors are required to obtain the proper building construction permits and applicable hot work permits,” Probert said. “Hot work operations includes tasks such as welding, brazing, torch cutting, grinding, and torch soldering. These types of operations create heat, sparks, and hot slag that can ignite flammable and combustible materials in the nearby areas. The best practice it to first see if construction can be accomplished without any hot work operations.”

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• Firefighters Contain Vegetation Fire in Danville

Earlier this month, firefighters in Danville extinguished a 100-acre brush fire sparked by grinder. The fire scorched the dry hillsides and prompted the evacuations of several summer camps at Sycamore Valley Elementary School.

Related:

• Contractors Using Grinder Sparked 100-Acre Grass Fire in Danville Tuesday

Probert says contractors who must perform “hot work” for a project need to take all necessary safety precautions. She offered tips for contractors and homeowners to follow.

• Hot work areas shall not contain flammables or combustibles
• A fire watch shall be established during the hot work activities and shall continue at least 30 minutes after the work in completed
• Whoever does the fire watch duty shall be fire extinguishing equipment readily available and shall know how to use it (know how to use a portable fire extinguisher)
• One portable fire extinguisher is required to be on site
• Hot work is not recommended on hot, dry, windy days
• A pre-hot work inspection shall be completed prior to any work to determine if the area is clear of any hazards, flammables and combustibles
• Have a phone readily available if you do need to call 9-1-1, preferably a landline. Know the address where the work in being performed in the event you do have to call and speak to a 9-1-1 operator.

“As we have seen with the recent fires in our fire district, the vegetation fires have been a result of unpermitted construction and hot work operations,” Probert said. “The proper precautions were not taken, and the fires started small and quickly spread due to the hot weather, dry, windy conditions, as well as the steep terrain and tall, dry season grasses.”

Probert stressed the importance of fire breaks to help protect structures from fire disasters.

“With the vegetation fires we have experienced recently, our agency was fortunate that our aggressive Exterior Hazard Abatement Program was in effect and there were fire breaks installed that were able to slow the spread of fire,” Probert commented. “Hot work fires can be avoided by taking the above referenced precautions, namely having an awareness at all times of the potential for a spark to escape and land in an area that contains combustibles.”

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