Crime & Safety
Worker's Propane Torch Touches Off Small Fire In Moraga
Quick response by firefighters kept damage from a backyard brush fire to a minimum in Moraga Wednesday.
A worker's unattended torch touched off a smoky brush fire in the 100 block of Via Joaquin in Moraga Wednesday, bringing Moraga-Orinda Fire District firefighters on the run.
District Fire Marshal Michael Mentink said the fire was reported at 12:35 p.m. by neighbors of the two-story home who saw flames in the backyard.
Firefighters were met by a fire advancing on the home and quickly put it out. A check of the attic determined that the home had not been breached by fire and had sustained only minor damage.
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Firefighters determined the fire started when workers used a propane torch on combustible fence material and left the area unattended. Smoldering debris ignited the fence and the fire began to advance toward the home.
Nineteen firefighters from MOFD and the Contra Costa County Fire District had the fire under control within 25 minutes of the time it was first reported, Mentink said.
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No one was injured in the blaze.
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