Crime & Safety

House Fire Injures One, Displaces Family

Alameda County firefighters don't know yet what caused a one-alarm house fire on Abbey Court Monday night.

Quick work by Alameda County firefighters brought a one-alarm house fire on Abbey Court under control in about 10 minutes Monday night.

Four of the residents — a man and three children — escaped without injury. The fifth resident, a woman, was transported to a local hospital for complaints of smoke inhalation according to Alameda County Fire Department spokeswoman Aisha Knowles .

Battalion Chief Kris Kerstetter said the woman had an asthma condition and the smoke may have exacerbated it.

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Red Cross representatives were on scene to help find shelter for the fire victims.

Fire crews received reports of a structure fire at the end of the cul de sac on Abbey Court at 8:06 p.m. Monday.

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Kerstetter said it took firefighters about 10 minutes to contain the fire.

According to Kerstetter, fire crews cut two holes in the roof to release the heat and smoke from the house.

“The bedroom is toast,” Kerstetter said. “There’s smoke damage throughout the house.”

Jonathan Houle, a neighbor, told Newark Patch he could smell some smoke from his home next door.

“After they (firefighters) cut a hole in the roof, you could smell more,” Houle said. “They made sure the fire didn’t spread to the other houses.”

Kerstetter says the cause of the fire is currently under investigation.


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