Massive fire at North Fair Oaks affordable housing site prompts evacuations

“There’s not going to be a whole lot left of our initial point of origin, so to speak, because the building’s virtually destroyed,” Lorenzen said. 

Construction began on the $155 million development one year ago at 2700 Middlefield Road on a county-owned vacant parcel behind the county’s Fair Oaks Health Center. The apartments were to be reserved for households earning between 15% and 80% of the area median income. Twenty apartments will be set aside for homeless and receiving care management and supportive services from San Mateo County Health. The lot was once home to a recycling facility.

The blaze began around 10:15 a.m., Lorenzen said, and was called in as a fifth-floor fire that potentially started in the insulation. Twenty-six fire engines and seven ladder trucks, as well as 10 engines sent from Santa Clara County, were deployed. Wind created issues in fighting the fire, officials said.

Mandatory evacuations were issued for neighborhoods surrounding the 2700 block of Middlefield Road where the fire began, including Pacific, Calvin and Dumbarton avenues. 

Temporary evacuation sites were open at the Red Morton Community Center and Veterans Memorial Senior Center. 

Around 50 residents were evacuated, Assistant Sheriff Ryan Monaghan said during a press conference. One of those residents was Joel Rebuelta, who lives close by — his home is around 100 feet from the development that caught fire, he said. Sheriff’s deputies and fire personnel evacuated him from the area, which was hot and permeated with smoke.  

“It’s scary, for people, and animals, and everything,” he said. “The fire department, the police, came walking by screaming, ‘Hey, you need to get out.’” 

He remained at the scene after the evacuation order, and is hoping for the best. Lorenzen said around 12 spot fires — small pieces of insulation that catch fire and drift away from the point of origin — had drifted into the neighborhood but had been extinguished. 

“I think everything went smoothly,” Rebuelta said. 

It was contained at about 3 p.m., and residents were allowed to return to their homes soon after.

Caltrain delayed service in the area through the early afternoon. Nearby Garfield Community School dismissed students for the day and said in a statement that all students are safe. 

“Due to smoke from a fire on Middlefield Road, we are dismissing school immediately for the safety and well-being of our students and staff. We want to assure you that everyone is fine and safe at school,” the statement read. 

Firefighters will likely be on scene until Tuesday, Lorenzen said, dealing with high winds and eliminating any flare-ups. Winds could cause trouble for residents as well, with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District putting out an air quality advisory for areas downwind of the fire, including Redwood City, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Santa Clara and into San Jose through the afternoon. 

Road closures and evacuation orders were expected to be lifted “as soon as we can roll up our hoses and the threat is gone,” Lorenzen said, likely by end of day. 

Firefighters on scene took a defensive, rather than offensive, approach to dealing with the blaze when they realized it would be too risky to go inside the building to put it out, he said. 

“We ended up setting up hose lines around the perimeter of it, putting as much water as we can on it,” Lorenzen said. “Our primary goal becomes making sure we can keep the fire contained in that building, and that it doesn’t spread to any of the adjacent structures on-site.”