Jan. 14--A fire at a Wikiup area home Monday morning started after a resident dumped warm fireplace ashes into a plastic garbage can, fire officials determined.
The container caught fire and spread to patio furniture and the outside of the home on Los Arboles Way.
No one was home but two neighbors -- both off-duty firefighters -- helped keep the flames in check with a garden hose until fire engines arrived, said fire officials.
"They kept it from going inside the house," said Windsor fire Battalion Chief David Cornelssen. "(The fire) was just breaking windows as the fire trucks arrived."
Damage from the fire was estimated at about $10,000.
Without the early effort, the fire would most likely have caused far more damage, Cornelssen said.
Multiple people called at about 8:45 a.m. to report the fire.
Windsor fire Captain Jason Piloni had just arrived home from his firefighting shift when his pager alerted him to the nearby call. He got into his truck and went to check it out, said Cornelssen.
Piloni arrived in time to help a Marin County firefighter, who'd stopped after spotting the fire while driving by to take his child to school.
The firefighter, whose name wasn't available, had phoned for help and then gone into the back yard to do what he could with a hose.
The home owner is Paul Harper, who lives out of the country, said fire officials.
The cause of the fire was quickly determined to be fireplace ashes.
The renter had cleaned out the fireplace ashes on Sunday and put them into a metal can.
Monday morning he dumped the ashes into the green garden waste can, said Cornelssen.
Ashes can stay warm for several days, especially if the pile includes coals or large embers.
Cyndi Foreman, a prevention officer for Central Fire, said ashes need to be put into a metal container and held for numerous days.
Before they are disposed of, water should be added to the can.
Windsor, Rincon Valley, Santa Rosa and Sebastopol firefighters were on the call.
Copyright 2013 - The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, Calif.
