On Thursday, April 10 at 11:38 a.m., a 9-1-1 call was received reporting smoke coming from a multi-story, multi-family residential apartment complex in the 2700 block of W. El Camino Real. The building's occupants self-evacuated before firefighters arrived.
Fire units were dispatched at 11:40 a.m. and arrived on the scene at 11:44 a.m. Units arrived to find an oven on fire, generating smoke throughout the apartment unit and into the first-floor hallways of this multi-story, multi-family residential apartment complex. Firefighters removed the oven from the wall to complete the extinguishment of the fire. Firefighters used thermal imaging cameras to measure heat behind the drywall to ensure the fire had not spread.
The fire was extinguished with no injuries. The building management is coordinating temporary accommodations with the resident until the restoration of the unit is performed. The Mountain View Police Department provided traffic control for 45 minutes while fire units and equipment were on the scene.
The kitchen was determined to be the origin of the fire. The cause of the fire was determined to be an unattended cooking fire. The estimated damage was limited to the kitchen oven, smoke residue in the one affected apartment and the hallway walls is $10,000. The building was turned over to facilities maintenance before fire crews left the scene.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) strongly advises against leaving an oven unattended while it is in operation. The NFPA states unattended cooking is responsible for over one-quarter (29%) of reported home cooking fires and half of all associated deaths.
Media Contact
Robert Maitland, Fire Department PIO
650-903-6825 or robert.maitland@mountainview.gov
