A first-alarm fire broke out a-week-ago Thursday, erupting in the attic of a one- and two-story multi-plex residential home in South Pasadena.
The blaze was quickly upgraded to a two-alarm fire but that was just as quickly cancelled because firefighters brought the fire under control in about 20 to 30 minutes, according to So Pas Fire Capt. Anthony Porraz. The residence is in the 1000 block of Magnolia Street.
The call came in around 5 p.m. and the fire was contained by 5:30 p.m., Porraz said.
The fire was fast-moving, resulting from “a lot of exposed” structure. The blaze could’ve quickly spread to the two-story side of the multi-plex, not to mention the house next door, Porraz said. One side of the multi-plex was single story while the other side was two stories.
“When we arrived it was heavy fire and smoke,” Porraz said in a telephone interview with The Review. “We were able to confine it to the one-story portion of the structure. We contained it in the attic pretty quickly.”
Porraz estimates about 20 to 30 firefighters from So Pas, San Marino, Pasadena and Alhambra responded to the scene. There was one minor shoulder injury suffered by a firefighter. He was treated and cleared by medical personnel.
“It was minor,” Porraz said. There were no other injuries reported.
Firefighters had to cut out the entire roof section of the multi-plex to get to the blaze.
There is no cost estimate at this time regarding the loss. The cause of the fire is under investigation but early indications are it was accidental.
“Our fire investigator is in charge of that, but it does appear to be accidental,” Porraz said. “It could’ve been the wiring in the attic. I don’t know.”
Firefighters stayed on the scene until about 8:30 p.m. to ensure no flare-ups occurred.
