Two homes were badly damaged in a three-alarm blaze in Palo Alto Saturday, a deputy fire chief said.
Shortly before noon, a teenage resident was with her friend inside her family's home in the area of Bryant Street and North California Avenue, when they smelled smoke.
The resident saw smoke and flames coming from the laundry room of the house, Palo Alto Fire Department's Deputy Fire Chief Catherine Capriles said.
The teen and her friend quickly exited the house and called 911, reporting a dryer fire, according to Capriles.
When firefighters arrived at the home, the kitchen and a majority of the first floor of the home were on fire. Firefighters entered the residence and knocked down the fire on the first floor, but continued to battle the blaze as it spread to the second floor, Capriles said.
A ventilation hole was cut in the roof to release smoke and gases but the fire had already spread to the attic, the deputy fire chief said.
As firefighters worked to contain the fire, embers from the blaze blew across the fence and onto the neighbor's shake roof, causing a small fire to ignite next door.
Local
The woman in the neighboring home and her two dogs were evacuated to safety as firefighters worked to contain the fire in her home.
The blaze at the neighboring home was quickly extinguished.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze at both homes by around 2 p.m., Capriles said.
The house where the fire began was deemed uninhabitable due to fire damage while only the roof and attic area of the neighboring home was damaged, according to Capriles.
No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Dryer fire in Bryant at California. 3 alarms. — PaloAltoFire (@PaloAltoFire) May 3, 2014
House fire: engines being released. Two homes involved. House 1 uninhabitable. House 2 shake roof and slight attic damage. Both fires out. — PaloAltoFire (@PaloAltoFire) May 3, 2014
Cooling hot spots. pic.twitter.com/hsI73TWcnU — PaloAltoFire (@PaloAltoFire) May 3, 2014
