Features

Fire Department Log By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday February 08, 2005

Blaze Erupts During Concert 

A burning candle left in an offstage dressing room ignited a blaze at Berkeley Community Theater Thursday night as 3,000 fans packed the auditorium for a rock concert. 

Fortunately, theater staff spotted the blaze as it began and were able to halt its spread with fire extinguishers. 

The fire department was called at 9:23 p.m., said Deputy Fire Chief David Orth. “It was out by the time we got there,” he said, “so we didn’t have to evacuate the theater.” 

One of the performers from the band Modest Mouse had placed a lighted tea candle into a shot glass, which Orth said was made of a glass that isn’t formulated to withstand the heat of an open flame. 

“The shot glass broke and the burning wax spread onto the cloth covering the dressing room table,” he said. “From there it spread to the wood frames around the mirrors.” 

Structural damage was minimal, and Orth estimated the loss to contents at $1,500. 

 

Cigarette Sparks Costly Blaze 

A cigarette lit by an unwelcome guest sleeping beneath the rear deck of the home at 1535 Addison St. triggered a $310,000 fire early Sunday morning. 

Firefighters were called at 2:57 a.m. with a report that an exterior rear stairway was ablaze, said Deputy Chief Orth. They arrived to find the rear deck burning and the flames spreading to the interior of the house. 

“There were multiple tenants in the house, and the fire was already inside of one of the bedrooms,” he said. 

Before firefighters had doused the flames, the fire had spread to a second bedroom and into the attic. A workshop underneath the deck was heavily damaged, Orth said. 

“The guest was sleeping on foam mats underneath the deck, and he told us he awoke to find himself surrounded by flames,” Orth said. 

The man changed his story after Orth’s investigation turned up evidence that he’d been smoking, and that the cigarette had probably ignited the bedding. 

Neighbors had repeatedly complained about alleged drug use on the property, Orth said. “They’d been upset with the occupants and their hangers-on for some time.” 

The fire department arranged alternative accommodations for the occupants with the American Red Cross. 

 

Second Candle Blaze 

The owner of the home at 1209 Delaware St. left a candle burning behind the sofa when she stepped out for a few minutes Sunday night. She arrived home at 9 p.m. to find her sofa in flames. 

“The candle ignited the drapes, which burned up to the curtain rod and then fell off onto the sofa,” said Deputy Chief Orth. 

The fire was quickly extinguished, but not before doing $15,000 in damage to the structure and $10,000 to the contents, he said. 

“This time of year when the weather is cold, people seem to burn candles more, and they cause more fires than at other times of years,” he said. 

During his preliminary investigations of fire scenes, Orth said he always looks for ashtrays and evidence of candles. 

“Sometimes you see a ring burned into the top of a table,” he said. 

Other times, such as the Community Theater fire, he spots the small metal squares used to anchor the wick at the base of tea candles. “I saw four of five of them there,” he said. 

Orth cautions residents not to leave candles burning when they leave the house and to place them away from inflammable materials. 

“I can’t imagine why anyone would leave a burning candle behind a sofa,” he said.