Crime & Safety
Damage Limited In Petaluma House Fire
An HVAC contractor accidentally started a fire, officials said.
PETALUMA, CA — A contractor installing an air conditioning system accidentally started a fire in the exterior wall of a Petaluma home on Sunday. The contractor had been using a propane torch to install pipe for the HVAC system when the fire started and was trying to extinguish it when
firefighters arrived.
Two adults and two children had already safely evacuated the two-story home.
The call to 22 Eighth St. came at 11:13 a.m., when two of the Petaluma Fire Department's engines were already responding to emergency calls.
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The assistance of outside agencies — Rancho Adobe Fire, Cal-Fire, Novato Fire and North Bay Fire — was summoned as a result, joined a short time later by the units that had already been committed elsewhere. The exterior wall was opened and the fire was extinguished.
There were no injuries and the residence only had light smoke damage estimated at $5,000.
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The home was deemed habitable following an inspection by city building officials.
—Bay City News Service