Hoarding Conditions At SMC Home Reported In 2-Alarm Fire

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA — A two-alarm fire ripped through a Pacifica home on Wednesday night, but fire crews say they prevented the flames from spreading to nearby structures — though possible hoarding conditions inside the structure led to added commitment times at the scene.

The blaze was reported at 9:11 p.m. in the 700 block of Claridge Drive, near the area of Skyline Boulevard and Manor Drive.

"The first arriving fire company found a two-story single-family residence with heavy smoke and fire showing," the North County Fire Authority reported. "Fire companies made an aggressive fire attack to knock down the fire and not allow flames to reach the adjacent structures and simultaneously conducted a search inside to determine if there were any occupants needing to be rescued."

Nobody was found inside the home, though fire officials said an "excessive" amount of items were inside.

"There were no injuries to civilians or firefighters and fire companies remained on scene for over 6 hours completing extensive overhaul operations due to the excessive amount of items and goods stored inside the building and to ensure the fire was fully controlled," the fire authority said.

Aerial images from Google showed the possible hoarding conditions prior to the fire, with several bags of goods visible throughout the backyard.

The North County Fire Prevention Services Bureau is investigating the cause of the fire.

last night’s fire at a house in Manor dr Pacifica #pacificafire v pic.twitter.com/RfWWa7imOh
— deewatah (@la_curacha) May 17, 2018

— Image via Google Maps