Candle sparks Santa Rosa fire, damages four apartments near Sonoma County Fairgrounds

A lit candle was toppled over while a Santa Rosa woman was sleeping and started a fire on Monday that displaced about 10 people, according to the Santa Rosa Fire Department.

The bed and curtains in the middle home of a four-unit residential building on Meda Avenue, just south of Sonoma County Fairgrounds, caught fire just before 4:30 p.m., Battalion Chief Jason Jenkins said.

Firefighters knocked down the fire quickly and contained the blaze to that apartment, which sustained significant damage, but the neighboring units were also damaged by smoke, Jenkins said. The entire fourplex building sustained an estimated $80,000 in damage.

Fire officials were unsure of exactly how many people were displaced by the fire, but Jenkins estimated 10, including a family that was at home when the blaze started. The Red Cross is supporting all the occupants with housing help, he said.

No one was injured, but firefighters searched one of the apartments for multiple cats that were supposedly trapped inside. A kitten was found under a bed and unresponsive due to smoke inhalation, Jenkins said.

It was provided oxygen and “looked in pretty good condition when we left,” he said.

No other cats were found during the search, but a firefighter did spot two cats and multiple kittens outside.

You can reach Staff Writer Yousef Baig at 707-521-5390 or yousef.baig@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @YousefBaig.