Six adults and five children were displaced after a kitchen fire ignited a multi-family apartment complex in Mountain View on Saturday.
According to a press release from the Mountain View Fire Department, there were no injuries. The origin of the fire was determined to be underneath a sink in a kitchen of the apartment complex, located at 1900 block of California Street. The cause was determined to be from a renovation mishap and deemed accidental.
Firefighters were contacted at 3:56 p.m. about the blaze and found two units on the second floor of the complex were on fire when they arrived. They soon found via thermal imaging that it had spread to the building’s attic.
The fire was extinguished with a hose line and prevented from spreading to further units.
The building occupants, totaling 11 people over two units, evacuated before the arrival of firefighters. The residents of the fire-affected unit received a $250 gift card from the California Professional Firefighters Union Supplying Aid to Victims of Emergency Program. Due to fire, smoke and water damage, the American Red Cross was contacted to coordinate temporary lodging.
The estimated damage to the contents and structure is $200,000. A second alarm brought in additional firefighting resources during an overhaul of the structure, which cut holes in walls and the roof to determine the fire had not spread.
The Mountain View Police Department provided traffic control for two and a half hours on scene.
