Columbia Fire Department responds to residential structure fire, July 18

On Saturday, July 18 at 2:50 p.m., Columbia Fire Department (CFD) companies were dispatched to a residential structure fire in the 4900 block of Craydon Drive.

CFD arrived within six minutes to find smoke and flames showing from the roof of a single-story residential structure. Firefighters immediately deployed a hose line to contain the fire and minimize damage to the interior of the home.

Additional companies arrived and began searching the structure for possible victims. Incident commanders upgraded the incident to a second alarm for additional personnel due to the extreme heat the region is experiencing. Throughout the incident, personnel were rotated to a designated location to shorten their work cycles, cool off and focus on hydration. The incident was under control within approximately 20 minutes of CFD arrival.

The occupants of the structure had self-evacuated prior to CFD arrival and searches performed by firefighters verified there were no victims. Work was performed inside the structure to verify the fire was extinguished while working to preserve the occupants' belongings.

A total of 11 fire companies, five chief officers and one safety captain with 42 personnel responded to this incident.

The Columbia Fire Marshals Battalion has conducted an investigation and the nature was accidental. The cause was determined to be electrical and related to roof-mounted solar panels.

City of Columbia Vision
Columbia is the best place for everyone to live, work, learn and play.

City of Columbia Mission
To serve the public equitably through democratic, transparent and efficient government.