Brentwood house fire injures firefighter, resident

A firefighter and a homeowner were hospitalized as a result of a blaze at a Brentwood home that called for an eight-hour commitment of East Contra Costa Fire Protection District crews on Saturday, fire officials said.

Twenty-one firefighters responded to the fire, which was first reported at 3:28 p.m. in the first block of Sycamore Avenue, according to the fire district.

Responding firefighters arrived at the scene to find a large shed aflame to the rear of the home. The sound of several explosions emanated from the shed, according to the fire district.

The fire extended into the home through an open patio and eventually entered the home’s attic. Both the shed and the home were engulfed in flames and were destroyed by the time the fire was knocked down.

The attack on the fire was delayed because of power lines that fell down on one of the sides of the home, according to the fire district.

Because of the fire’s complications and a reduction in manpower, it took the district’s firefighters around eight hours to clear the scene, according to Fire Chief Hugh Henderson.

Henderson said the district had few resources available for responding to Saturday’s other fires, such as a 45-acre brush fire in unincorporated Contra Costa County and an Antioch fire that destroyed a home and damaged up to five others.

The Brentwood blaze resulted in a firefighter and a male resident suffering injuries, according to the fire district. They were transported to Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch for treatment.

There was also a Brentwood police officer treated at the scene for a heat-related illness, according to the fire district.

Arson investigators are examining the cause of the fire.

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