TUESDAY UPDATE: A Mountain View fire investigator just arrived on the scene of the Dana Garden apartment fire. Soon he will venture inside Building C to search for the source of ignition. The fire which started just after 3 p.m. on Monday was so serious firefighters had to increase their response, calling for a fourth alarm.
Everyone escaped the blaze. One firefighter was hurt with a minor injury. Five units were destroyed, 21 more made uninhabitable by smoke and water damage.
That is about 45-50 people who have been forced from their homes. If they don't have family or friends, they have the Red Cross, who rushed to the scene to help out with temporary housing.
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Fire crews rushed to an apartment complex in Mountain View Monday afternoon for a fire that roared through several units.
Officials said Monday night, at least five units were destroyed. They said the fire had the potential to take out more, if the sixty firefighters had not been able to contain it so quickly.
Fire officials declared a 4th alarm at the East Dana Street location near Whisman at 4:30 p.m.
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Helicopter video from above showed the roof of several units has been eaten up by the flames. You could see into the area that was once a family's home.
This happened at the Dana Garden Apartments in Mountain View.
Crews appeared to have a handle on the fire by 5 p.m. The flames were gone and the there was only a small amount of white smoke that remained.
Mountain View fire called in mutual aid from surrounding cities and credit the help from keeping the fire from spreading to homes and a second line of apartments which were within a few feet of the source of the fire.
A childcare center near the fire declared a shelter in place because of smoke in the area. A person at Kids Korner Christian Preschool said they were using their phone bank to call all the parents and ask them to come and pick up their children early.
A viewer named Kevin Scarpello said his wife heard the first calls for help from the fire. He said she helped get people out to safety. He also sent us some video and images from the fire he captured before our helicopter arrived. See below.
