What’s it like to be a firefighter standing in the middle of the night amid a home in flames? This short helmet-camera video from a three-alarm fire in Bay Point early this morning gives you some idea. The video was posted by United Professional Firefighters of Contra Costa County.
Here’s a Bay City News report on the early-morning blaze, which the fire marshal said ignited in a minivan containing drug paraphernalia.
Investigators believe someone smoking drugs in a van caused a three-alarm fire that injured seven people and damaged four homes in Bay Point early this morning, a Contra Costa County Fire Protection District fire marshal said.
The blaze was reported on Anchor Drive at 1:17 a.m. Flames destroyed two homes and damaged two others before firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze around 2:30 a.m., Fire Marshal Robert Marshall said.
Investigators determined the fire started in a minivan adjacent to one of the homes and they found drug paraphernalia and lighters inside, Marshall said.
“The next steps will be trying to identify who might have been in there doing that,” he said.
Of the seven people injured, one was taken to Saint Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco with minor to moderate burns and smoke inhalation, Marshall said. The other six were taken to John Muir Medical Center with smoke inhalation and are expected to survive, he said.
The fire caused an estimated $850,000 in damage and has displaced at least 10 residents, according to Marshall. He said the American Red Cross is assisting the residents.