Firefighters put out blaze at vacant house in Atascadero

Atascadero firefighters say nobody was injured in a fire Wednesday afternoon that damaged a vacant residential structure on the 7800 block of Curbaril Avenue.

The fire, at a two-story, single-family residence, was reported at 5:24 p.m. Wednesday, prompting the dispatch of 18 firefighters and two engines.

First responders said they saw smoke coming from the attic vents of the house.

“The structure was vacant, but in the process of being remodeled,” according to a statement from Atascadero Fire Department Capt. Bill White.

Crews were able to locate the fire, which was inside the walls of the first and second floors, by using thermal imaging cameras; the fire took 35 minutes to contain and personnel remained on scene for two hours.

White wrote that construction workers were burning wood in the fireplace all day “and the heat from the fire spread into the wall due to a design flaw in the fireplace chimney.”

Despite the fire, White wrote that there was no estimated property or content value loss.

This story was originally published December 21, 2017 at 9:29 AM with the headline "Firefighters put out blaze at vacant house in Atascadero."