Late-Night Fire Burns Two-Story House in Benicia

A two-story home on Benicia's West K Street caught fire early Tuesday morning, sending one resident to the hospital for possible smoke inhalation but otherwise causing no injuries.

The fire in the 200 block of West K Street was reported by a neighbor around 2:34 a.m., according to the Benicia Fire Department.

When fire crews arrived, they found the fire contained to the rear room on the home's first floor, the press release states. They were able to extinguish the fire in about 20 minutes and get both residents out safely.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, according to the press release.

The full press release from the fire department follows:

Early Tuesday morning, December 18, 2012 at approximately 2:34 AM, the Benicia Fire Department was dispatched to a report of a structure fire at 280 West K Street. The initial report was from a resident stating their neighbor’s house was on fire. Benicia Fire responded a first alarm structure fire assignment with Engine-11, Truck-11, Engine-12, Battalion-11 and Mutual Aid Engine-24 from Vallejo.

Benicia Engine-11 was the first fire unit to arrive on scene. Engine-11 arrived at 2:38 AM and found heavy smoke and flames coming from the first floor rear windows of a two-story residence.  Engine-11’s crew deployed a hose line to the rear of the first floor and made an aggressive attack on the fire. Battalion-11 arrived on scene and established fire command. Truck-11 was assigned to search the residence for occupants and Engine-12 was assigned to back up Engine-11’s crew.  Two residents occupied the home at the time of the fire. One occupant was transported by ambulance to a local Emergency Department for evaluation of possible smoke inhalation.

The fire was contained to the back room of the lower floor. The fire was completely extinguished, with no extension to adjacent rooms and placed under control at 2:57 AM. Fire units performed salvage and overhaul operations.  Vallejo Engine-24 provided station coverage. There were no civilian or Fire Department injuries.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by the Benicia Fire Department fire investigation unit.