3 Escape Explosive Apartment Fire

SANTA ROSA, CA — Three people and their pets safely escaped an explosive apartment fire Thursday in Bennett Valley, officials with the Santa Rosa Fire Department said.

Around 2:25 p.m. Thursday, the Santa Rosa Fire Department received numerous calls about a "loud boom" followed by reports that flames were climbing the back wall of an apartment building in the 2300 block of Tachevah Drive, according to Matthew Dahl, a battalion chief with SRFD.

"The first unit arrived in under four minutes and found a fire in the backyard of a lower-floor apartment that had spread to both floors of the unit and into the attic above," Dahl said. "The fire had broken the sliding glass doors on the first and second floors, which allowed the fire to enter the living areas."

Firefighters extinguished the exterior parts of the fire and deployed hoses into the apartment to attack the fire inside the building and the attic. Crews from the ladder truck climbed to the roof to cut ventilation openings and assisted with interior firefighting operations.

The blaze was brought under control in 20 minutes, Dahl said.

Firefighters contained the fire to one apartment and protected two other apartments from serious damage. Crews searched all three apartments and found no people inside.

Witnesses told the fire department that three people lived in the apartment and were home when the fire started. Thanks to a neighbor who knocked on their door, all three residents and their pets escaped the flames before firefighters arrived.

The American Red Cross was helping the displaced residents with temporary housing and other essentials.

The residents of the other two apartments were able to return home, Dahl said.

Damages were estimated to be $250,000.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.