Fire Crews Pinpoint Cause Of Two North Bay Fires ... And Warn Residents Not To Make Same Mistakes

SONOMA COUNTY, CA - Two of three fires that occurred within an hour of each other in Santa Rosa on Monday were preventable, fire officials said today.

The first fire at 7:04 p.m. spread up the side of a residence at 5374 Gold Drive and into the attic, Santa Rosa Fire Battalion Chief Ken Sebastiani said. The fire was contained to the attic of a back bedroom and was quickly extinguished, with damage estimated at $40,000, Sebastiani said.

The fire started when a resident used a propane torch to burn weeds close to a wood pile on the side of the house, Assistant Fire Marshal Paul Lowenthal said.

Using an open flame to burn vegetation is not permissible in Santa Rosa city limits, Lowenthal said.

The second fire was reported six minutes later at a two-story apartment at 1106 Prospect Ave., where smoke and flames were coming from the first- and second-story windows, Deputy Fire Chief Bill Shubin said. The four residents made it safely out of the apartment but a cat perished, Shubin said.

The fire was under control within 20 minutes, Shubin said. Lowenthal said the blaze that destroyed the apartment is under investigation and damage is estimated at $300,000.

A structure fire at 993 Butte Drive in northwest Santa Rosa was then reported at 8:04 p.m., Sebastiani said.

Firefighters arrived four minutes later and found bystanders using a garden hose to put out the 9-square-foot blaze on the shake shingle roof of the building, Sebastiani said. Firefighters found the remnants of an improvised airborne paper lantern in the center of the scorched roof of the residence, Sebastiani said.

On Jan. 14, firefighters found the remnants of a similar lantern on the burning roof of a commercial building in the 900 block of Piner Road, Lowenthal said. The two lanterns are nearly identical and both structures are located close to each other, Lowenthal said.

The lanterns are typically made of oiled rice paper on a bamboo frame and contain a small candle or fuel cell, but the lanterns suspected of causing the two fires had a flexible wire frame, Lowenthal said. Firefighters couldn’t tell if the lanterns had a candle or fuel cell.

The lanterns are not technically considered an illegal pyrotechnic device or firework, but a person using one can be held responsible if it causes a fire, Lowenthal said.

The lanterns often are used at weddings and religious celebrations and Cal Fire is concerned about them causing wildland fires, Lowenthal said.

• Also see:
• Fire Officials Warn Against Use of Sky Lanterns for Celebrations
• Free Steak Dinners Being Used To Sell Very High-Priced Smoke Alarms In Region: Officials

--Bay City News