From: LYNN SANCHEZ
To: Council, City; Shikada, Ed
Subject: Fire at 3428 South Court
Date: Monday, June 9, 2025 4:18:13 PM
Attachments: 9-29pm.mov
9-30pm.mov
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Mark Safe Report
Dear Council Members,
On the evening of May 23, there was a fire at 3428 South Court. The occupants were in the house and smelled smoke. They left the house and called 911. We are directly across the street and heard a loud explosive sound and saw our large front window light up orange. I suspect what we heard was the garage door exploding outward. There were two Teslas parked in the driveway. The explosion ignited one of them and damaged the backend of the other one.
I called 911 at 9:25 and they said a call had just come in and an engine was on its way. 9:29 shows fire personal already on the scene laying hose.
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9:30 shows water being sprayed on the fire.
On May 30, I emailed the city clerk for the fire report. I did not want to wait any longer before sending this email since there was another fire, a last week involving an Eichler, which was completely destroyed.
Not having the report, I can’t say for sure, but I believe the fire truck from Fire station 4 was the first on the scene and the fire was successfully contained to the garage. In my opinion, it’s because we had a fire truck close by that was able to get water to the fire 5 minutes after I called, and probably 7-8 minutes after the first call.
If Fire truck 64 had been unavailable because of a medical emergency, there would have been no local truck available to respond to this fire? I have heard about the 8 minute window response time that has been repeated at meetings, but how long would it have taken a truck from Barron Park to get water on this fire? Would they have been able to prevent it from spreading to the interior of the house, or next door?
If this fire had happened on a weekday, during rush hour, and fire truck 64 was unavailable we would have to depend on trucks coming from the other side of Alma. If you have driven these routes, you know how the traffic backs up, especially with the new train schedule. That is why we need, and I support a fully staffed Firehouse in South Palo Alto.
Thank you,
Lynn Sanchez
3427 South Court