Fire Displaces 15 Sonoma Co. Families

SONOMA COUNTY, CA -- A fire at a Santa Rosa apartment complex Thursday rendered an apartment building uninhabitable, displacing 15 families, according to the Santa Rosa Fire Department. Crews were dispatched to the fire at 750 Apple Creek Lane -- off N. Dutton Avenue and W. 3rd Street -- at 4:37 p.m. Thursday and when the first firefighters arrived on scene, two apartments were fully involved in fire, a battalion chief said.

"Additional crews were dispatched to assist with the large fire in the two-story apartment building," said Santa Rosa Fire Department Battalion Chief Ken Sebastiani. "Truck company personnel were placed on the roof to create ventilation openings to relieve some of the built up heat and smoke and to cut off the lateral spread of the fire."

A total of 32 firefighters responded. With an aggressive fire attack, he said crews were able to make entry into the apartments and extinguish the flames -- containing the fire within 30 minutes.

Damage and loss from the fire was estimated at $400,000, the bulk of it being to the two initially involved units, the battalion chief said. Two other apartments incurred minor damage.

However, he said the entire 16-unit apartment building was deemed uninhabitable as a result of the incident and the need to shut off electricity and natural gas to the building for safety reasons.

The Red Cross is assisting with temporary lodging for two of the affected families, according to Sebastiani.

There were no reports of any injuries in the fire.

What may have sparked the blaze remains under investigation by the Santa Rosa Fire Department and the Santa Rosa Police Department.

Fire consumes two residences at west Santa Rosa apartment complex https://t.co/lJdyYqsxO7 pic.twitter.com/5iUu2KBvDm
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Screenshot image via @Santa Rosa Fire video/Twitter