At 9:42 a.m. last Sunday Alameda Fire Department (AFD) received the report of a fire at an apartment complex on the 2400 block of Shore Line Drive. Firefighters arrived four minutes later to find a fire burning inside a utility room at the rear of the large, three-story building. The rapid spread of smoke to the second and third floors prompted the call for additional AFD companies; 23 firefighters responded.  

Some firefighters pulled hose lines and began attacking the fire, while others evacuated occupants from the building and checked to make certain that the fire had not spread to the upper floors and the roof.

Firefighters confined the damage to the first-floor utility room. There were no reported injuries and occupants were not displaced by the fire.

An AFD fire investigator determined the cause to be from the malfunctioning pool heater had caught fire. The fire then spread to other combustible items in the room.

Firefighters from the Oakland Fire Department provided mutual aid, covering the fire stations in town. The city’s building department, Alameda Municipal Power, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and the Alameda Police Department also responded.