Yesterday right after 12:00 p.m., multiple reports were received of a residential structure fire burning in the 700 block of Ukiah’s Malaga Drive north of Ukiah High School. A firefighter driving towards the incident told the dispatcher a black column of smoke was rising from the fire.
Upon arrival, Ukiah Valley Fire Authority Battalion Chief Justin Buckinghman told us firefighters found the back deck of a family home had been scorched and the rest of the structure was saved from damage after a crew of paramedic trainees heard the callout during their lunch break, rushed to the scene, and significantly tamped the flames using garden hoses.
Chief Buckingham said that nobody was home during the fire, the flames of which singed the exterior of the home and did not extend inside.
The cause of the fire was still under investigation, Chief Buckingham explained, but initial findings pointed towards the fire starting from an extension cord.
Chief Buckingham took the incident as an opportunity to remind the community of extension cord best practices. Extension cords are not meant to be outside for long periods of time and lose their integrity when walked on, Chief Buckingham said.
