On Monday, October 3 at 6:30 p.m., Mountain View Communications received a phone call from an alarm company reporting a fire in an apartment in a multi-family residence in the 800 block of East El Camino Real. The occupants of the apartment and the neighboring apartments self-evacuated before firefighters arrived.

Units were dispatched at 6:30 p.m. and arrived on the scene at 6:36 p.m. Units arrived to find a sprinkler system activated in a kitchen on the second floor of a four-story residence due to a cooking fire. The ensuing heat from the fire rose to a level causing the sprinklers to activate.

Firefighters discontinued the water flow from the sprinklers, confirmed there was no fire extension into the building, and performed salvage and overhaul of the structure. Firefighters began operations to remove water from 16 affected units that suffered water damage, loss of electrical power, or both. Traffic was closed in both directions of Crestview Drive.

Property management relocated one resident to another unit in the building. One other resident received assistance from the American Red Cross. The Fire Department provided the resident with a $250 Visa gift card from the California Professional Firefighters from their Supplying Aid to Victims of Emergency program. Property management’s on-site electrician restored power to the remaining affected units, and a water evacuation company was called to remedy the water damage. Traffic was reopened to both directions of Crestview Drive.

One resident was treated for burn injuries at the scene and transported by ambulance to Valley Medical Hospital Burn Unit. The estimated damage to the contents and structure is $500,000. The building was turned over to property management for continued repairs and restoration.

The fire cause was determined to be accidental due to unattended cooking, which ignited oil in a pan.