5 SLO residents flee early morning house fire near Cal Poly
Five San Luis Obispo residents fled their burning home early Friday morning as firefighters responded to the scene, according to the San Luis Obispo City Fire Department.
SLO City Fire and Cal Fire arrived to an active structure fire on Chaplin Street near Cal Poly around 4:45 a.m., according to Battalion Chief Neal Berryman.
Berryman said firefighters had received reports of a deck fire, but when they arrived, both the interior of the house and outdoor deck were on fire.
One of the residents whose room was near the deck reportedly heard an explosion and looked outside to see the deck in flames, Berryman said. The resident quickly woke everyone else and they all evacuated without injury.
“It could have been a really devastating fire,” Berryman said.
According to Berryman, firefighters had to ventilate the roof so that it would remain standing as they extinguished the flames.
No firefighters were injured, according to the battalion chief.
The house had extensive damages.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but Berryman said investigators suspect smoking may have been involved.
