Community, Fire Department

Firefighters save Upper B homes

August 8, 2017

Just before 9 pm on Tuesday, Aug. 1, Hayward firefighters responded to a fully involved residential structure fire at a mid-block home on Stafford Street in the Upper B neighborhood along San Lorenzo Creek.

According to Fire Chief Garrett Contreras, crews performed an aggressive interior attack on the blaze in conjunction with rooftop ventilation and exposure prevention, meaning they cut a hole in the roof to vent heat and flames upward, away from windows and two neighboring homes.

“I’m often impressed by the work our firefighters do but in this case I am not sure how they were able to stop this fire where they did,” Contreras said. “With the temperatures and fire load that crews were faced with, it defies logic that all three homes were not destroyed.”

Firefighters arrived within three minutes of being dispatched, the Chief said. It took 11 HFD companies (35 personnel) to stop the fire, while Alameda County Mutual Aid was requested to cover the city while Hayward firefighters fought the blaze.

The single resident of the home that caught fire was not at home at the time. One cat is still missing. No injuries to firefighters occurred. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

You can view a video of the Hayward Fire Department in action here.