On Wednesday, April 30 at 6:16 p.m., a 9-1-1 call was received reporting a fire on a stove in a multi-story, multi-family residential apartment complex in the 2200 block of California Street. The building's occupants self-evacuated before firefighters arrived.
Fire units were dispatched at 6:17 p.m. and arrived on the scene at 6:21 p.m. Units arrived to find an active fire coming from the kitchen of a second-floor apartment in a two-story, multi-family residential apartment complex. Firefighters quickly extinguished the flames with a water fire extinguisher, preventing the fire from spreading further into the building. The Mountain View Police Department closed both lanes of eastbound traffic on California Street for 30 minutes while fire units and equipment were on the scene.
Firefighters cut open the ceiling to ensure complete extinguishment of the flames. The fire was extinguished with no injuries.
The occupants of the apartment were allowed to return to their home. The fire cause was determined to be accidental due to a cooking error, which ignited the contents in a pot on the stove. The estimated damage to the contents and structure is $10,000.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, cooking fires are the number one cause of home fires and home injuries. By following a few safety tips, you can prevent these fires.
• Stay in the kitchen while frying, boiling, grilling, or broiling food.
• Keep anything that can catch fire — oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels or curtains — away from your stovetop.
• Smother flames on the stovetop by sliding a lid over the pan and turning off the burner.
• Get out and call 9-1-1 if you have any doubts about extinguishing a small fire.
See all of the NFPA cooking tips at https://www.nfpa.org/education.
Media Contact
Robert Maitland, Fire Department PIO
650-903-6825 or robert.maitland@mountainview.gov
