Date/Time: May 4, 2021 at 2:45 p.m.
Location: 900 Block of West 7th Street, City of Upland
Incident: Residential Fire
On May 4, 2021 at 2:45 p.m., San Bernardino County Fire (SBCoFD) crews were dispatched to a reported commercial fire in the 900 block of West 7th Street in the City of Upland. Multiple 911 callers stated they saw smoke from a two-story apartment complex.
Crews arrived on-scene to find moderate to heavy smoke showing from an attic of a large two-story apartment complex. Crews initiated a fire attack, prioritizing their efforts on evacuations of residents & limiting the fires spread. A second and ultimately third alarm were quickly struck to bring additional crews and personnel to the scene. While crews completed their fire attack, winds pushed the fire through the common attic space of the building. Despite interior crews and truck crews aloft coordinating their efforts, they had to back out and off of the building as the roof began to fail.
Crews transitioned to a defensive posture, flowing thousands of gallons per minute to suppress the fire. At the height of the fire more than 6,000 gallons were flowing a minute. Firefighters were successful in keeping the fire to the building of origin, keeping the fire out of adjacent trees and nearby buildings. After the fire was knocked down, firefighters were successful rescuing and reuniting residents with family pets. Upland Animal Control provided assistance with housing the pets & reuniting them with their owners.
In total more than 50 units were impacted by fire, smoke, water damage or by utility outage. Approximately 200 residents have been displaced by the fire. The building received heavy structural damage and is currently uninhabitable. Upland Building & Safety was requested to assist. American Red Cross responded to the scene and was working with displaced residents for temporary shelter and food needs.
One firefighter was transported to a local hospital with injuries consistent with a heat related illness. Thankfully no injuries were reported to residents or bystanders.
More than 15 Engines, 3 Truck Companies, 2 #SBCoFD Fire Investigators and multiple Chief Officers responded to the three-alarm fire. Mutual aid was provided by Rancho Cucamonga Fire District, LA County
Fire, and Rialto Fire. Thanks to our cooperator agencies for their assistance. Upland Police assisted with traffic control, crowd control, initial evacuations, and animal assistance.
The fire’s cause is under investigation.
Crews will be back today working on mop-up, investigation, salvage and assisting residents. At the time of the press release no damage estimates were available.
