Dream Inn, Arana Gulch, Private Home Incidents All Quickly Contained
The Santa Cruz Fire Department dealt with three separate fires over 36 hours on July 14 and 15, first dealing with a brush fire in Arana Gulch, then with a Dream Inn laundry room in middle of the night, and finally helping a family rescue seven dogs late the next night.
No one appeared to be injured in any of the fires.
Here are the incident reports:
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Wildland Fire
On 07/14/2020 at 1425 hours, The Santa Cruz Fire Department responded to a report of a wildland fire in Arana Gulch in the City of Santa Cruz. The first arriving fire unit reported a vegetation fire approximately 300 feet from the roadway and began putting hose lines place to reach the fire.
Additional units arrived and were able perform a mobile attack on the fire and the forward progress of the fire was halted with in the first 10 minutes of crews arriving on the scene. The fire was approximately 150’ by 30’ feet and moving at moderate rate up hill in flashy fuels and brush. The fire was fully contained within 45 minutes and no structures were threatened.
The cause of the fire is undetermined but is believed to have originated from a shopping cart that was on fire and spread to the wildland. No firefighter injuries were reported.
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Dream Inn
On 07/15/2020 at 0117 hours, The Santa Cruz Fire Department responded to a report of a water flow fire alarm at the Dream Inn Hotel located at 175 West Cliff Dr. The first arriving unit found a 10-story hotel, with an alarm sounding with an evacuation underway. The 911 call center advised they were receiving additional smoke detector activations in several rooms on the 3rd floor.
On further investigation fire crews found heavy smoke from a 3rd floor laundry room and active fire. The smoke had also charged the 3rd floor hallway and visibility was significantly reduced. Additional fire units were requested to the scene along with SCPD. Fire crews deployed hose lines and began to extinguish the fire while other crews were assigned to a systematic room-by-room search on the 3rd floor.
The fire was extinguished and all occupants were able to escape without injury. Fire crews spent the next several hours removing smoke from all 10 floors and restoring the elevators and sprinkler system. All hotel occupants were eventually able to return to their rooms.
A sprinkler head was activated in the laundry room, which helped contain the fire to the room of origin. The fire investigation determined the fire started in a large laundry basket full of towels. The cause is being investigated and remains undetermined.
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Electrical Fire
On 07/15/2020 at 2155 hours, The Santa Cruz Fire Department responded to a report of a structure fire at 1453 High Street in the City of Santa Cruz. While units were in route to the address, the 911 call center reported that there were several dogs in the residence and the occupants had re-entered the home trying to locate their animals.
The first arriving fire unit reported heavy smoke from the front doors of a large one story house and took immediate actions to rescue the occupants. Additional crews arrived at the scene and were assigned to assist with the rescue operation and extinguishing the fire. Fire crews ventilated the structure and searched for the family’s pets.
A total of 5 people at the home were evacuated along with 7 dogs, with everyone accounted for and no injuries were reported to the occupants, pets or firefighters.
A fire investigation was conducted at the scene to determine cause and origin. The fire was found to have originated in the kitchen and the cause was an electrical failure to an outlet shortly after its use. Damage was estimated at $100K.
The Santa Cruz Fire Department wants to take this opportunity to remind everyone to have working smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors in their homes.