Crews fight rural Templeton house fire for nearly 7 hours

A fire badly damaged a home in rural Templeton on Tuesday, gutting the attic and spreading into the floor below.

Cal Fire crews and five other agencies helped battle the blaze for around 7 hours.

Reports came in at 10:43 a.m. Tuesday of a chimney fire that spread into an attic of a 4,000-square-foot home, Cal Fire Command Center told The Tribune.

The home is located on the 5000 block of Esmeralda Lane near York Mountain Road, north of Highway 46.

The two residents of the home safely evacuated by the time Cal Fire’s first unit responded, the command center said.

“They did everything right,” Cal Fire Battalion Chief Josh Heinbach told The Tribune. “They called 911 right away, evacuated immediately and let us do the best job we possibly could.”

The home’s entire third floor — the attic — was destroyed, along with portions of the second floor. The residents declined help from the Red Cross, saying they could stay with family in the area, he said.

The fire was knocked down around 3 p.m., but crews from Templeton, Paso Robles, Atascadero and Cambria fire departments and Five Cities Fire Authority assisted until around 5:45 p.m., Heinbach said.

The extent of the damage was unknown as crews continued to battle the blaze, and

The cause of the fire is under investigation, Cal Fire said.

This is a developing story. Check back to sanluisobispo.com for updates.
To get breaking news alerts, click here