Written by Jessica Mullins
UPDATE 9:30 a.m. Thursday: The cause of the fire was likely discarded smoking materials, according to San Rafael Fire Chief Chris Gray. "Residents are reminded to use extra care if using smoking products, heat producing or open flame devices, particularly with the fire season we are facing," he said.
Original article 5 p.m. Wednesday: San Rafael’s Mini-Stor Self Storage at 990 Anderson Drive sustained an estimated $10,000 in damage after a fire broke out Wednesday afternoon.
Fifteen San Rafael firefighters responded to the fire around 3 p.m. after several 911 callers reported a fire on the roof of the building.
When firefighters arrived on the scene they saw fire and smoke coming from the roof of the mini-storage building, according to San Rafael Fire Chief Chris Gray.
The fire appeared to have started on the exterior of the building. The building did not have automatic fire sprinklers, according to Gray.
The fire caused smoke and water damage to the interior of a caretaker's legal living quarters on the second floor of the building above the main office, Gray said.
Firefighters knocked down the blaze in about 10 minutes. It's unknown what started the fire on the exterior of the building, Gray said.
“Storage unit-related fires can be very dangerous due to type of construction, open contiguous spaces, heavy fire loading and unknown materials being stored,” Gray said in a release.
No one was injured in the blaze, which is under investigation.
-- Bay City News contributed to this report
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.