Photos by Jeff Fontana
and Jeremy Couso
Firefighters were forced to fight brutal, freezing temperatures, downed power lines and a fiercely burning residential fire when they arrived early Wednesday morning at a multi-family residence on Roop Street.
The Susanville Fire Department responded to 240 N. Roop Street shortly before 6:00a.m. to find smoke and flames coming from both floors of the North side of the building and power lines down in the driveway.
The initial dispatch reported occupants may be in the building.
“As crews prepared to perform a primary search for possible victims,” explains Fire Captain Leon Myers, “the South portion of the structure flashed over. The engine crews pulled hose lines and worked to control the fire while protecting the exposures to the North and West sides.”
At this point in the incident, it was reported that all occupants were accounted for, and LMUD arrived on the scene to mitigate the electrical line hazard which allowed better access to the main area of the fire.
“Once the main fire was extinguished, crews worked to overhaul the structure. This involved removing portions of the collapsed roof to gain access to areas that were still burning. Once the overhaul was completed, a fire investigation began which pointed to an electrical source.”
Myers added that with freezing temperatures and all surfaces covered with ice from hose streams, slipping was a major concern and created many hazards throughout the incident.
There were no firefighter or civilian injuries. The Susanville Fire Department was supported by Cal-FIRE, CDCR Fire, the City of Susanville Natural Gas, LMUD, CAL-OES, and the Susanville Police Department.
