Richmond Greenway fire destroys home, damages others; strong winds spread flames rapidly

An official report from Richmond Fire Chief Aaron Osorio says a vegetation fire on the Richmond Greenway, aided by strong winds, destroyed one home and damaged several others Wednesday morning near 39^th Street and Ohio Avenue in Richmond.

According to the report, Richmond Fire responded to what was initially reported as a small vegetation fire behind the homes along the Greenway near Ohio Avenue.

Richmond Fire Department responds to Greenway blaze

The Richmond Fire Department responded to a call for a vegetation fire on the Richmond Greenway Wednesday morning and arrived to find several structures also involved. The fire broke out just before 11:30 a.m. Wednesday and burned multiple structures, sending bellows of dark smoke into the sky as

Grandview IndependentLinda Hemmila

"Upon the arrival of the first fire unit, one home was well involved with fire with significant exposure risk to multiple other homes and structures," Osorio said. "An immediate upgrade to a structure fire response was initiated. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that there was fire impacting and damaging five different properties, so a second alarm was struck."

Those responding to the fire included Richmond Fire, El Cerrito Fire, and Contra Costa County Fire.

A total of 35 firefighting personnel were on the scene, and Berkeley Fire and Crockett Fire provided additional coverage for Richmond to maintain citywide protection during the incident.

One home sustained major damage and was red-tagged; the occupants were provided assistance through the Red Cross. Four other homes – two with heavily damaged ADUs, had varied degrees of damage.

Osorio said the preliminary investigation points to multiple fire starts in the grass on the Greenway path, which runs behind the homes. Strong winds quickly spread the fire to the backyards of the homes and extended it to the structures. 

The cause of the fire is under investigation, and there is no description of a suspect.

No civilian or firefighter injuries were reported; however, a dog and several chickens were killed in the fire.

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