A fire charred a Davis home on Saturday afternoon, displacing a family and causing at least $80,000 worth of damage.
The fire, which reportedly was caused by oily rags left too close to a heat source, was reported just after 2:30 p.m. at 609 Cordova Place in North Davis. Three Davis engines responded.
Davis firefighters had the flames under control not long after their arrival. The fire was completely extinguished by 3:30 p.m. and firefighters began work on clearing smoke from the home. That included cutting large holes in the attic to vent the smoke.
Bruce Fry, division chief for the Davis Fire Department, said there was significant damage to the roof in the process, along with what the fire had destroyed in the garage, the storage shed and outside fence.
Fry’s $80,000 estimate does not include potential repairs to the two cars that were parked in the garage, which he said may need to be repainted.
The residents will be living elsewhere for now, as their electricity and gas has been shut off. It will not be turned on again until PG&E repairs the meters that also were ruined, Fry said.
He added that the investigation revealed it was rags, used by the family to apply an oil-based stain to the deck earlier in the day, that ignited and started the blaze.
Fry warns that any rags, particularly when coated with oil, need to be stored safely in this hot weather. Such objects have potential to ignite, he said, and should be kept far away from flammables.
— Reach Brett Johnson at bjohnson@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8052. Follow him on Twitter at @ReporterBrett
