The Tucson Fire Department was dispatched to a fire at 12:19, arrived on scene at 12:25 and had the fire under control by 12:30 pm as temperatures hovered around 100 degrees.
The fire damaged a house in the 400 block of West Palmdale Street shortly after noon. The original call to 9-1-1 stated a fence was on fire, which called for a single TFD engine to respond. Additional information upgraded the call to a full alarm with multiple units dispatched as the fire was actually in the rear of the house and not a fence.
The initial unit a ladder company, arrived on scene, and reported smoke from the rear of the house. The first in engine arrived shortly thereafter and pulled a hose line through the carport area and into the back yard of the house. The back porch was heavily involved in flames with several appliances as well.
The fire fighters began extinguishing the flames. Additional crews entered the house through the front door to ensure all occupants were out safely. The ladder crew controlled the utilities to the home and then cut a hole in the roof near the rear of the house. Crews also pulled down ceiling from the interior to make sure the fire did not spread further than the kitchen area of the house, which was near the back wall of the home.
In total Nine units consisting of 23 firefighters responded to the fire and controlled the fire within five minutes of arriving. There were no injuries to firefighters but crews immediately went to rehab to rehydrate and cool off as temperatures were just at or over 100 degrees. Crews work 24 hours shifts and the fire started roughly 5 hours into the shift. It’s very important from a safety standpoint for the crews to rehydrate for the remaining 19 hours of the shift.
Red Cross was responding to assist the family of three that was displaced including a 41 year-old female, a 20 year-old male, and 17 year-old female. The fire started on the back porch of the home but the cause of the fire is still being investigated.