Mustang Daily Staff Report
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A fire in the Stenner Glen apartment complex Saturday morning forced approximately 40 residents to evacuate and caused the injury of one firefighter, according to fire officials.
Firefighters from both San Luis Obispo Fire Department and Cal Fire responded to the 911 call at 11 a.m. Saturday to find a rapidly spreading fire that encompassed two of the third-floor suite’s six bedrooms.
“The fire was well-established in a third-floor bedroom and was coming out the windows and spreading laterally throughout that whole suite,” Battalion Chief Jeff Gater said. “We were able to get two hose lines quick into that suite.”
San Luis Obispo Police Department (SLOPD) officers arrived on the scene to aid in the evacuation of 20 people living in the building and nearly 20 more in the neighboring building. According to Gater, however, much of that work was already done by the resident advisers on site.
“The Stenner Glen staff were very good about getting everyone out quickly, so even before we arrived they had gotten everyone out of the building,” Gater said.
The fire was under control within 25 minutes of the 911 call, officials said. Damage was contained mainly to four of the six bedrooms, preserving two of the bedrooms as well as common areas. The fire did not reach any other buildings in the complex.
“I knew we had a working fire on the way there based on the 911 reporting party,” Gater said. “We had to spend a bunch of time disassembling the building to get to the enclosed spaces.”
No tenants sustained injuries from the fire, but one firefighter was injured by a collapsed ceiling fan. He was transported to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, where he was treated and released. According to Gater, the injured firefighter should be back to work within the week.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
“We know that the fire started in the corner of the bedroom by a mattress or bed,” Gater said. “What’s around there could have started the fire, and a lot of it has to do with whether the room was accessible to everyone or only people with keys, and we’re still trying to figure that out.”
Gater also said multiple fires have occurred in the Stenner Glen complex recently.
“We’ve had a few fires there in the past year,” Gater said. “Whether they’re related yet, we don’t know. We’re still investigating the cause.”
According to the fire department, all bedrooms in the unit did have working smoke detectors and one of the occupants was first alerted by a smoke detector.
“I think one of the most important things about the fire is that there was a girl sleeping next door and she was alerted by the smoke detector going off in her bedroom, so that’s how people found out about it,” Gater said.
Stenner Glen was able to provide alternate housing on site for the displaced residents until repairs can be made to the unit. The fire is estimated to have caused $150,000 in property damage and $25,000 in damage to personal belongings.
Tenants in both the building where the fire occurred and in the adjacent building were displaced because the fire department shut off gas in both buildings in order to combat and investigate the fire.
Laura Pezzini contributed to this staff report.