Dec. 08--HESPERIA -- A fire at an 11-unit apartment building displaced two families on Saturday, authorities said.
Officials are trying to determine how the fire started, a San Bernardino County Fire Department official said.
The fire was reported about 1:06 p.m. in the 17000 block of Donert Street in Hesperia. When firefighters arrived six minutes later, they saw smoke coming from the front of an apartment near the heating and air-conditioning unit, according to a County Fire Department news release.
After determining the fire was in the wall area near the heating unit and spreading to the ceiling, firefighters evacuated the building as a precaution, according to the release.
Fire personnel extinguished the blaze. Damage was estimated at about $9,000, including smoke damage to an upstairs unit, in addition to water, smoke and fire damage to the downstairs unit.
County Fire Department spokesman Dean Dickover said Saturday via email the displaced families consisted of one with six adults and one with a mother and child. The rest of the building's tenants were allowed back into their apartments.
The apartment building was valued at $660,000, according to the news release.
It was revealed that the heater had been turned on by an apartment building employee an hour before the family was to move in. When the family moved in, according to the news release, they realized something was wrong and called 9-1-1 but the cause of the fire remains under investigation and centered around the heating unit.
The apartment building owner let the displaced families use other vacant units in the building, authorities said.
Heat-producing appliances that have been off for an extended period of time should be inspected by gas company representatives because they have special equipment to check for leaks and carbon monoxide, which can be deadly, authorities said.
Copyright 2013 - Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Calif.
