Fire destroyed a garage connected to a duplex Tuesday in Salinas, forcing a family of four to find shelter elsewhere.
Fifteen Salinas firefighters were called to the home at 44 Center St. at 3:50 p.m. Fire engulfed the front and one side of the garage by the time they arrived, said Fire Capt. Simon Jimenez.
A family of three adults and one child managed to escape the flames, he said. It took firefighters 10 minutes to knock the blaze down.
Because of extensive smoke damage, the family was forced to leave the residence. They are now under the care of the Red Cross.
The fire caused an estimated $25,000 in damage to the property, Jimenez said.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Several minutes after the fire on Center Street was reported, Salinas firefighters responded to another fire, at a nearby elementary school.
Firefighters were called to Martin Luther King Jr. school on North Sanborn Road at 4 p.m. after a custodian found smoke coming from one of the classrooms, said Capt. Ed Lauderdale.
Firefighter discovered that a piece of rubber had fallen from a vent and landed onto a heating unit, causing what Lauderdale described as "light smoke" in the room.
No students were in class during the fire, Lauderdale said.
Distributed by the Associated Press
