Amid sounds of fireworks, roof fire in northeast Modesto causes moderate damage
A two-alarm fire early Saturday evening at an empty home in northeast Modesto caused moderate to severe damage.
At about 6 p.m., Modesto firefighters were called to the 3500 block of East Orangeburg Avenue just east of Fransen Lane on a report of smoke in the backyard of a single-story home.
When they arrived, they found light smoke and fire on the home’s shake roof. The fire continued to grow, and due to the size and “complexity” of the structure, it was elevated to two alarms, according the Alan Ernst, the Modesto Fire Department chief.
Firefighters checked the home and found no occupants. They were able to put out the fire in short time.
The homeowner had been contacted.
As Ernst was discussing the incident, and loud boom could be heard.
“As you can tell, there are illegal fireworks going off in the area,” he said. “We do not know the cause yet, but it’s always suspect when we have a shake roof and illegal fireworks in the air.”
The Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District also was on scene.
This story was originally published July 4, 2020 at 7:34 PM.
