April 7, 2007

Fire on Mt. Madonna Drive

Dark plumes of smoke filled the air shortly after 3 p.m. on April 5 when the detached garage of a home on Mt. Madonna Drive, located near Mt. Pleasant High School, was engulfed in flames.

Fire fighters from nearby stations 21 and 16 responded to the scene and had the fire “knocked out” within eight minutes, said Battalion Chief Kevin Conant, who also arrived on site shortly after the blaze was extinguished. Conant said no one was hurt, and that no cause had been established. Fire Department investigators were called in to conduct an investigation.

Conant added another concern during the blaze were the high-tension electrical wires, which spanned across the garage, and the to what extent those wires were damages from being exposed to the flames.

Luis Jaramillo, who rents the home with his family, said he also had no idea what started the fire. Jaramillo said he returned home from visiting a relative earlier in the day when he noticed flames and smoke pouring through the windows of the garage.

“I just got inside, saw the smoke and got everybody (in the house) out,” he said.

—Photos by Dan Miranda