Fire at Redwood City construction site knocked down after triggering evacuations
Written by Dave Pehling
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (KPIX-TV)- Fire crews on the Peninsula on Monday morning are responding to a large fire burning at a building currently under construction in Redwood City that led to evacuation orders for people living in the area, according to authorities.
The fire is burning on the 2700 block of Middlefield Rd., according a social media post by the San Mateo County Sheriff's office just before 11 a.m. Residents who live nearby on Pacific Ave. and Calvin Ave. were advised to evacuate immediately.
About 20 minutes later, evacuations were extended to include those living on Dumbarton Ave. from the train tracks to Middlefield Rd. The sheriff said fire crews are at the scene.
Deputies were on site evacuating residents as the fire grew. The public was asked to avoid the area.
Redwood City Fire later confirmed that the fire started at around 10:15 a.m. on the 5th floor of the building. The wind was presenting a challenge as crews tried to bring it under control. An 8th alarm as been called for the incident, according to officials.
Video posted on the Citizen App and social media showed the large multi-story structure was fully involved. Several ladder trucks could be seen pouring water on the building. The fire was burning in a more industrial part of town, but there are a number of residential neighborhoods nearby.
Caltrain transitioned to hourly service and advised riders to expect significant delays.
By around 12:35 p.m., the fire had mostly burned out the building, leaving only the skeletal metal frame still standing. Smoke was still rising from the ruins of the construction site.
"The fire started on the north end of the building and then was pushed by the winds, all the way over to this side," said Menlo Park Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen. "The big challenge is, initially, there is no firewalls in there, they haven't been constructed yet. So it's just a tinderbox and the fire spreads pretty quickly."
Lorenzen also noted there were safety factors firefighters needed to remain aware of as they battled the blaze.
"Stay back far enough so that if it collapses, we're out of the collapse zone. It's one thing we don't want to do in a building that's already been determined a loss is to hurt anybody, injure anyone," Lorenzen said.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District posted about the impacts of smoke from the fire after it was extinguished.
The post noted that smoke downwind from the location including parts of Redwood City, Palo Alto, Mountain View, Santa Clara and San Jose could experience reduced air quality. Residents can check air quality at the fire.airnow.gov website.
A temporary evacuation site was opened at the Veterans Memorial Senior Center at 1455 Madison Ave. in Redwood City. Resources will be provided there for those who were evacuated by the fire.
The construction site is for a 179-unit affordable housing project known as Middlefield Junction near the border of Redwood City and North Fair Oaks in San Mateo County. The vacant parcel is county-owned land behind the Fair Oaks Health Center. The project was to consist of new apartments from one to three bedrooms, a child care center and community open space. The estimated cost of the project was $155 million.
