Fire officials say staining rags sparked fire that burned two homes

Two homes were badly burned in Santa Rosa in an early Tuesday morning fire, according to the fire department.

The 3:47 a.m. blaze started between two houses on San Miguel Place and climbed up the sides of each and into their attics, Santa Rosa Fire Battalion Chief Jason Jenkins said.

The cause of the fire, which displaced two families but caused no injuries, was later determined to be improperly discarded staining rags.

Jenkins said:

“There was a severed gas line but that does not appear to be the cause.”

Both houses suffered significant smoke damage as well as fire damage. No damage estimate was immediately available.

As firefighters were responding, they received reports of shots fired in the vicinity of the fire and had to stage a block away while police cleared the area, Jenkins said. That delayed the response by about a minute, he said.