Redwood City fire: Evacuation orders lifted for residents as crews contain fire at affordable housing building on Middlefield Road

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (KGO) — Evacuation orders are being lifted for some residents affected by the 8-alarm fire at a Redwood City affordable housing construction site, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.

Residents can visit the Veterans Memorial Center for more information on who can return home. Rescuers are on site to intervene.

More than 100 firefighters battled the blaze that destroyed a six-story building under construction along the 2700 block of Middlefield Rd.

The incident began around 10:15 a.m. on the 5th floor of the building, the sheriff's office said.

Residents living along Pacific Ave., Calvin Ave. and Dumbarton Ave. were ordered to leave.

“When I started smelling smoke, my niece came out of the room and said, 'You know what? I think the building behind our house is burning,'” René Salas said , one of the evacuees.

“And we all came out of the house… there was really heavy smoke and we started trying to figure out what was going on,” he said. “And so I started throwing water over it, we were very close…about 100 feet from the fire and maybe within 10 to 50 minutes I saw that the police were trying to do get everyone out. And that's when the fire really got big,” he said.

Construction workers were on site at the time, but no injuries were reported.

Firefighters said the fire started at the north end of the building but was pushed by winds.

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Meteorologist Drew Tuma said winds were gusting up to 30 mph at the height of the fire.

The affordable housing project has been in the works for nearly a decade, and construction began in earnest about a year ago.

The building is directly behind the Fair Oaks Health Care Center, a clinic that was evacuated and very close to homes that were also evacuated.

Now that the worst of the fire is under control, crews are considering the next steps.

“The scaffolding is in place. There is also a crane in place that was hovering over the fire. So we will ensure that safety protocols are in place to assess the safety of the crane and see “If it has to be taken down and then the scaffolding, we're going to look at what we need to do to alleviate that concern for the neighborhood,” said Jon Johnston, fire division chief for the Menlo Park Fire Protection District. one of several agencies that responded to the fire in unincorporated San Mateo County.

The fire affected commuters. Caltrain says it has experienced delays.

ORDERED EVACUATIONS

In addition to residents evacuated from Pacific Ave., Calvin Ave. and Dumbarton Ave., students at Garfield School were dismissed early Monday.

School officials said in part: “We want to assure you that everyone is well and safe at school. Families are encouraged to pick up their children as soon as possible. If you cannot come, rest assured that your child will remain inside and supervised at school until you arrive. »

County Health's Fair Oaks Center was also evacuated. Hospital officials said they are working with patients to reschedule their appointments.

Firefighters said about 50 people from the adjacent area were evacuated due to the proximity of the fire and others were evacuated due to flying embers.

A temporary evacuation site has been set up for evacuees at the Red Morton Community Center, located at 1120 Roosevelt Ave. in Redwood City. But it closed at 6 p.m. Monday.

The building under construction was supposed to be a 179-unit affordable housing project known as Middlefield Junction in North Fair Oaks, according to San Mateo County officials.

The project included new one- to three-bedroom apartments, a daycare center and community open space. It was expected to be completed next year.

“It’s just unfortunate and heartbreaking that the building is likely a total loss at this point,” said San Mateo County Supervisor Warren Slocum.

“We've been working on this for 10 years and it's a travesty because in California affordable housing, which is so difficult to build, takes so long, that the main problem is financing. This was a unique development because it includes 1, 2, 3 bedrooms so families could enjoy this new building, daycare and community meeting rooms, so all of that is gone now. And I hate to keep saying it, but it's just a tragedy.” , he added.

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IMPACTED AIR QUALITY

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has issued a smoke advisory indicating that the air quality of the following cities may be affected: Redwood City, Palo Alto, Mountain View, Santa Clara and San Jose.

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