Firefighters received an emergency call at 12: 45 p.m. for a fire in the Mountain House community. As firefighters from Mountain House Station 98 arrived at the house on the 18000 block of West Byron Road, a column of heavy black smoke could be seen rising into the air from a great distance away, fire officials said.
A resident and construction crews on Andalusia Way in the newly developed Americana neighborhood nearby called 911 as they watched the front of the two-story house become engulfed in flames and smoke.
Division Chief Andy Kellogg, who was second to arrive, said flames were shooting out of the first floor attached garage and into the second floor bedroom above it.
“It had a pretty good head start,” he said, before firefighters were called to the scene.
As more engines arrived, Kellogg said firefighters attacked the inside. A team from the Tracy Fire Department’s ladder truck went on the roof to cut ventilation holes.
Kellogg said the fire quickly spread from the second floor bedroom and into the attic. He said the fire then ran across the inside of the roof, causing portions of the roof to collapse. One firefighter was struck by falling sheetrock inside the second floor, but Kellogg said he was uninjured and returned to continue fighting the fire after receiving medical clearance.
Firefighters managed to contain the blaze to the garage, a second-floor bedroom and the attic.
A construction manager for Meritage Homes said he watched the fire from his construction trailer 150 yards away.
“I saw the flames coming out of the garage, four feet high, and they were getting higher until they got to the roof,” Bill Ash said. “I asked the family if there was anyone else inside, and they said call 911.”
No injuries were reported, and damage was estimated at about $120,000. The American Red Cross’ San Joaquin County chapter was also called to the scene to assist the homeowners.
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