A rapid response from Contra Costa firefighters brought an expanding structure fire that threatened an apartment complex down to a blaze that gutted a single, soon to be vacated, apartment.
At 4 p.m. on Monday, firefighters were called to the 2400 block of Starlight Lane on what was initially determined to be a second alarm structure fire in an apartment complex. Nearby, the smoke from the fire rolled across cars passing on Highway 4.
Six to eight minutes later, firefighters had knocked down what could have been a deadly blaze that destroyed four apartments.
“It’s a tribute to the engine company’s quick response,” said Confire Battalion Chief Bob Atlas. “It could’ve been worse. $100,000 in damage could have been $1 million in two to three more minutes.”