Crime & Safety

Motorcycle Repair Leads to Carmichael House Fire

Routine motocycle maintenance may be to blame for a fire that engulfed a Carmichael home Tuesday evening, officials say.

Authorities believe it was routine work one Carmichael resident was performing on his motorcycle that led to about $200,000 in fire damages to his home Tuesday evening.

According to a Sacramento Metro Fire report, the fire broke out just after 4 p.m. at the 3308 Oak Stream Court home. Fire crews responded to a report of a vehicle on fire in a garage, with a resident possibly trapped inside.

According to the report, crews arrived within five minutes to find the garage of a two-story house, "heavily involved in fire, with extension into the attic." Crews immediately attacked the fire in the garage while beginning the search for any trapped occupants.

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The fire intensified quickly, enveloping the attic and part of the second floor, according to the report. While crews were inside battling the fire, flames were extending outward from the eaves toward the house next door.

“The neighbor watched the fire move close to his house; the eaves are only about six feet apart. He told me afterward how terrified he was, thinking he was about to lose his house," said Mike Daw, Metro Fire Battalion Chief.

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Michelle Eidam, Sac Metro's spokeswoman said the damage caused about $150,000 in structural, $50,000 in personal property to the home where the fire started.

"(The residents) be displaced for a good period of time," Eidam said.

Luckily, according to Eidam, the neighbor's home was unaffected. According to Eidam, 24 firefighters worked together to extinguish the fire and save the neighbor’s house from any damage.

The fire was determined to be accidental in nature, caused by work being performed on a motorcycle in the garage.

"We don't exactly what he was doing to the motorcycle," Eidam said. "We know he was doing something physical to the bike, that's it."

Metro Fire reminds residents that smoke alarms save lives. According to Metro Fire officials, nearly 60 percent of home fire deaths are in homes with no working smoke alarms.

For all our latest fire coverage, please see our Fire Watch topic page at Fairoaks-Carmichael.patch.com/topics/Fire-Watch.


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