Features

Fire Department Log

By Richard Brenneman
Friday October 13, 2006

Gas fire 

A residential fire was reported at 7:20 p.m. Wednesday at 740 Euclid Ave., where firefighters discovered a small blaze in a kitchen wall triggered by a leaking gas line. 

The flames were quickly quenched, limiting damages to $2,000 to the building and $1,000 to contents, said Berkeley Deputy Fire Chief David P. Orth. 

 

Caught on camera 

After smelling smoke for four hours, a Berkeley resident finally called for help at 7:19 Thursday morning. 

Arriving firefighters couldn’t find any flames at first, but like the resident of the home at 1401 Scenic Ave., they also smelled smoke. 

To located the source, firefighters deployed one of their latest high-tech tools, a thermal imaging camera that detects hot spots inside walls otherwise invisible to the human eye. 

The camera found the source, a slowly smoldering fire that was burning inside the wall, apparently ignited by a torch being used to heat roofing materials during work on a deck at the home. 

“We found the fire and we had it quickly extinguished,” said Orth. “The camera really came in handy.” 

The department has two of the devices, he said.