Manhattan Beach Firefighters extinguished a blaze at a Strand home Friday after painters working on the house may have accidentally sparked a flame while grinding paint.
“It looks like they may have hit a nail and caused some sparks to go into the interior wall,” said Manhattan Battalion Chief Frank Chiella.
Nobody was injured.
MBFD officials responded within four minutes to a call that came in at 3:40 p.m. to report the fire, which quickly spread to the home’s attic.
By the time firefighters arrived, flames and billowing gray smoke poured the home. Fire officials removed shingles from the roof and poured water into an opened wall, putting out the fire in 10 minutes, officials said.
Chiella said that the fire may have resulted from a slow burn that was sparked the previous day and which smoldered the interior wall cavity.
“The home owner smelled it and was home when it happened,” Chiella said. “He looked outside and his neighbors told him smoke was coming out of the attic.”
Fire officials estimated damages to the home at $50,000.
The MBFD is still investigating two fires that occurred earlier this year.
Last month, a blaze in March that quickly engulfed a dental office and damaged other businesses, including Koffee Kart restaurant, in downtown Manhattan Beach was declared arson.
A fire at the home of an elderly woman in March is also under investigation.
MBFD Engineer and arson investigator Mike Murray said last week that the department would release more information at the completion of both investigations. ER
