On Friday, Nov. 10 at 5:29 p.m., a 9-1-1 call was received reporting a vehicle was on fire in the underground parking garage of a large three-story commercial building at 599 Castro St.

City of Mountain View Fire Department units were dispatched at 5:30 p.m. and arrived on the scene at 5:33 p.m. Units arrived to find smoke and fire coming from a vehicle parked three floors below the grade of the underground parking garage. Firefighters were faced with challenging conditions due to being underground and zero visibility resulting from the smoke coupled with heat. However, firefighters using thermal imaging cameras successfully extinguished the flames with a fire-attack hose line preventing the further spread of the fire. The building’s sprinkler system activated keeping the fire to the vehicle of origin until the firefighters arrived to extinguish the flames. The fire was brought under control at 5:45 p.m.; however, units remained on the scene until 7 p.m.

Being a large multi-story office building with smoke in the upper floors, a second alarm was called to bring additional resources to assist with the search of the structure. Firefighters from the Palo Alto Fire Department, the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety, and the Santa Clara County Fire Department joined the City of Mountain View firefighters in an exhaustive search of the complex to ensure the fire was extinguished and no victims were found. Firefighters performed an extensive overhaul of the scene to ensure complete extinguishment of the flames with no extension into the upper floors.

The area of origin and cause of the fire were determined to come from the vehicle, which, according to the owner, had no recent maintenance performed or known mechanical issues. The estimated damage to the contents and structure is $25,000. The actual cause
of the vehicle igniting remains under investigation.

The Mountain View Police Department closed the 500 block of Castro Street in both directions while fire units and equipment were on the scene. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority diverted its buses around the scene while the street was closed to traffic.

Traffic was reopened in both directions of Castro Street. The building was turned over to management to make arrangements to provide a temporary fire watch and restore the sprinkler and fire alarm systems.

Media Contact
Robert Maitland, Fire Department PIO
650-903-6825 or robert.maitland@mountainview.gov