Fire Strikes Home on Thanksgiving Morning

Rescue units responded early Thursday to a two-alarm structure fire on Belle Avenue in San Rafael in which nobody was injured, a fire official said.

The fire at the Victorian house at 536 Belle Ave., in the hills just north of San Rafael High School, was called in at 1:03 a.m. and was under control in 30-40 minutes, San Rafael Fire Battalion Chief Jeff Rowland said.

The eight residents of the home were not members of one family and shared one lease, said Caitlin Cobb of the American Red Cross. Four residents were not home at the time of the fire and one of their rooms was occupied by a guest. The Red Cross' Disaster Action Team provided temporary housing, food and clothing to two of the residents and food and clothing only to a third.

Six of the eight bedrooms plus the attic were heavily damaged or destroyed and two rooms had minor damage, Cobb said. The Red Cross plans continue to work with affected residents.

Rowland said everyone was out of the house when fire units arrived to visible smoke and flames, he said. He said the worst damage was in to two third-floor rooms and the attic. 

About 30 fire personnel responded from agencies in San Rafael, Marinwood, Larkspur and Kentfield, Rowland said.

The cause and damage estimate on the property will be determined by an investigations team once their assessment is complete, he said.