Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Redwood City and Woodside firefighters were able to extinguish a two-alarm blaze that had a female trapped inside an apartment building in East Palo Alto early today, Sunday, Dec. 23, a fire chief said.

Fire crews responded to a report of a fire at a three-story
apartment complex at 280 East O'Keefe St. at 12:03 a.m., Menlo Park Fire Protection District Chief Harold Schapelhouman said.

The blaze originated on the second floor, in the back of the
building, and was caused by an unattended pot on the stove, Schapelhouman said.

A female was trapped inside on the second floor, but firefighters
were able to rescue her and transport her to a hospital for treatment, the chief said.

Two other women were in the apartment at the time of the fire, but got themselves out and were transported to a hospital, he said.

One firefighter from the first responding crew suffered from smoke inhalation, but remained at the scene, he said.

None of the injuries are considered life-threatening and the fire was out about 12:45 a.m., Schapelhouman said.

The majority of the damage was done in the second floor, but the third floor sustained some smoke damage, he said.

Six people, three women from the unit on fire and three others
from a separate unit, were displaced, Schapelhouman said.

The unit sustained about $100,000 to $150,000 in damage, and
another $20,000 to $25,000 in contents were lost.

— Bay City News Service

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