MEC&F Expert Engineers : STRING OF FIRES DISPLACE 17 PEOPLE SATURDAY. CAUSES, AS PER THE FD: FAULTY WATER HEATER, ACCIDENTAL ELECTRICAL SHORT, VEHICLE PARKED IN THE GARAGE

Monday, January 5, 2015

STRING OF FIRES DISPLACE 17 PEOPLE SATURDAY. CAUSES, AS PER THE FD: FAULTY WATER HEATER, ACCIDENTAL ELECTRICAL SHORT, VEHICLE PARKED IN THE GARAGE



STRING OF FIRES DISPLACE 17 PEOPLE SATURDAY.  CAUSES, AS PER THE FD: FAULTY WATER HEATER, ACCIDENTAL ELECTRICAL SHORT, VEHICLE PARKED IN THE GARAGE








By THE BAKERSFIELD CALIFORNIAN



The Bakersfield Fire Department was busy Saturday with a string of fires that displaced a total of 17 people from three different homes.



No injuries were reported.



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The first fire was called in at 4:38 a.m. Saturday for an attached garage at a fourplex in the 4300 block of Isla Verde Street.



The cause is still under investigation but appears to have been accidental, possibly started by a vehicle parked in the garage, the fire department reported.



Damage was contained to the garage, but the fire caused an estimated $30,000 damage and displaced seven people.



Then about noon the fire department responded to another fire in the 1300 block of 18th Street where an attic was ablaze.



Fire crews were able to keep the flames from spreading but damage was such that five people were displaced.



The cause was an accidental electrical short. Damage was estimated at $30,000.



Another five people were forced out of their home in the 600 block of Irene Street because of a garage fire.



That fire was called in about 5 p.m. The blaze caused moderate damage to the house and was caused by a faulty water heater, according to the fire department.



Damage was estimated at $50,000.