GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - It was a long night for local firefighters on Sunday, Jan. 19th. A call was received around 7:30 pm, reporting a fire in a two-story home on the 1900 Block of West Liberty St., Gridley, CA. Several units were dispatched to the 2000 square foot residence, including first on the scene, CAL FIRE Butte Station 74 Ladder Truck aided by engines from Biggs and Live Oak, and water tenders from Gridley, Biggs, Richvale, and Palermo.

Upon arrival, firefighters encountered the structure with flames on the first floor and smoke coming from the attic. CAL FIRE Captain, Mike Conaty, says, “Crews overcame construction challenges and were able to extinguish the fire and save the rest of the structure and contents. All occupants made it out of the house.”

Firefighters were forced to attack the flames from above and below, using the ladder to gain the upper hand. Units were on scene until after midnight, carrying out a heavy overhaul and clean-up of the site. According to CAL FIRE Captain, Troy Hand at Butte County’s CAL FIRE command station, a structure fire of this nature, with a blaze in the attic area, presents several difficulties and requires a lot of manpower to salvage. After containment, they dedicated hours to removing materials from both floors of the building so the fire could not rekindle.

Unfortunately, what was saved of the home was no longer inhabitable. Red Cross was contacted to aid the family in finding temporary accommodations. Luckily, no one was injured. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Big thanks to the firefighters who arrived to help; Fire Captain Mike Conaty, Engineers Zach Downing, Casey Dietle, Perry Nunez and all the crews from Biggs, Richvale, Live Oak and Palermo.