Crime & Safety

Fire Crews Scramble from WC to Bethel Island

Busy day for ConFire includes injuries to residents and death of two dogs in Clayton, and small apartment fire in Walnut Creek.

County fire crews were stretched thin Tuesday afternoon, evening and on into early Wednesday morning with multiple fires across the county, including the loss of two dogs and the rescue of three others at a Clayton home and a firefighter suffering a burned hand in Antioch.

The calls came in one after the other. The busy day looked like this:

  • 3:58 p.m. — small fire at a high-rise commercial building on Gateway Boulevard in Concord.
  • 4:04 p.m. — a possible arson fire at a commercial structure on Railroad Avenue, Pittsburg.
  • 4:08 p.m. — residential fire on Sundance Court, Antioch.
  • 6:12 p.m. —  residential fire on Four Oaks Lane, Clayton.
  • Shortly after Clayton alarm — small fire in apartment complex on Trinity Avenue, Walnut Creek.
  • 3:00 a.m. Wednesday — several engine companies from Antioch area assist in fighting two-alarm residential fire at two houses on Bethel Island.

More details on the individual fires are available in a Wednesday news release by Fire Marshall Lewis Broschard of the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District.

In Walnut Creek, the first crew on the scene found the fire to be in a pot on the stove in an apartment complex in the 1900 block of Trinity Avenue.

In the Concord fire, the first in the string, it was a quick call with firefighters finding a small fire on a 10th-floor balcony of a high-rise commercial building on the 1800 block of Gateway Boulevard.

In the Pittsburg fire, investigators are looking into reports that a disgruntled employee threw gasoline on equipment at the Quality Tune Up and set it on fire, Broschard reported.

“When we receive multiple structure fires in a short period of time, it can tax the system and create stress on the remaining emergency response needs of our community," said Broschard. "There are currently 29 staffed fire companies in 28 stations throughout the Fire District. The series of multiple fires yesterday highlights the need for a well staffed and geographically distributed fire response capability. Fire crews from virtually all of the communities we serve participated in the response to the multiple fires yesterday.”


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