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Home My WebLink About345 Chaplin Fire Report_RedactedNFIRS-1 Basic 40060 CA 10 09 2020 Fire Station 4 (FS4) 20-04509 0 FDID State Month Day Year Station Number Exposure Location Type Census tract: Street Address Intersection In Front Of Rear Of Adjacent To Directions US National Grid 345 CHAPLIN Number Prefix Street or Highway Street Type Suffix San Luis Obispo CA 93401 Apt./Suite/Room City State Zip Code Cross Street Incident Type 111-Structure Fire Aid Given Or Received 1 Mutual Aid Received 2 Auto. Aid Received 3 Mutual Aid Given 4 Auto. Aid Given 5 Other Aid Given None CALFIRE (40080) California Their FDID Their State Their Incident Number Dates and Times Alarm 10 09 2020 04:47 Arrival 10 09 2020 04:50 Controlled 10 09 2020 05:24 Last Unit Cleared 10 09 2020 09:03 Shifts and Alarms B 1 FZ2 Shift or Platoon Alarms District Special Studies 9244 3 - No, COVID 19 was not a factor ID#Value Actions Taken 11-Extinguishment by fire service personnel Primary Action Taken 12-Salvage & overhaul Additional Action Taken 21-Search Additional Action Taken 51-Ventilate Additional Action Taken Resources Apparatus or Personnel Module is used. Apparatus Personnel Suppression 6 15 EMS 0 0 Other 0 0 Resource counts include aid received resources. Estimated Dollar Losses and Values Losses:Required for all fires if known. Optional for all non-fires. None Property:$ 223,705.00 Contents:$ 167,779.00 Pre-Incident Values: Optional None Property:$ 298,723.00 Contents:$ 223,705.00 A B C D E1 E2 E3 F G1 G2 Page 1 of 11 Completed Modules 2 - Fire 3 - Structure Fire 4 - Civilian Fire Cas. 5 - Fire Service Cas. 6 - EMS 7 - HazMat 8 - Wildland Fire 9 - Apparatus 10 - Personnel 11 - Arson Casualties None Deaths Injuries Fire Service 0 0 Civilian 0 0 Detector Required for Confined Fires 1 - Detector Alerted Occupants 2 - Detector Did Not Alert Them 3 - Unknown Hazardous Materials Release 1 - Natural Gas 2 - Propane Gas 3 - Gasoline 4 - Kerosene 5 - Diesel Fuel / Fuel Oil 6 - Household Solvents 7 - Motor Oil 8 - Paint 0 - Other None Mixed Use Property Not Mixed 10 - Assembly Use 20 - Education Use 33 - Medical Use 40 - Residential Use 51 - Row Of Stores 53 - Enclosed Mall 58 - Business and Residential 59 - Office Use 60 - Industrial Use 63 - Military Use 65 - Farm Use 00 - Other Mixed Use Property Use None Structures 131 Church, Place of Worship 161 Restaurant or Cafeteria 162 Bar/Tavern or Nightclub 213 Elementary School, Kindegarten 215 High School, Junior High 241 College, Adult Education 311 Nursing Home 331 Hospital 341 Clinic, Clinic-Type Infirmary 342 Doctor/Dentist Office 361 Prison or Jail, Not Juvenile 419 1- or 2-Family Dwelling 429 MultiFamily Dwelling 439 Rooming/Boarding House 449 Commerical Hotel or Motel 459 Residential, Board and Care 464 Dormitory/Barracks 519 Food and Beverage Sales 539 Household Goods, Sales, Repairs 571 Gas or Service Station 579 Motor Vehicle/Boat Sales/Repairs 599 Business Office 615 Electric-Generating Plant 629 Laboratory/Science Laboratory 700 Manufacturing Plant 819 Livestock/Poultry Storage (Barn) 882 Non-Residential Parking Garage 891 Warehouse Outside 124 Playground or Park 655 Crops or Orchard 669 Forest (Timberland) 807 Outdoor Storage Area 919 Dump or Sanitary Landfill 931 Open Land or Field 936 Vacant Lot 938 Graded/Cared for Plot of Land 946 Lake, River, Stream 951 Railroad Right-of-Way 960 Other Street 961 Highway/Divided Highway 962 Residential Street/Driveway 981 Construction Site 984 Industrial Plant Yard Property Use: Description Look up and enter a Property Use code and description only if you have NOT checked a Property Use box. Owner Local Option Person/Entity Type Business Name (if applicable)Phone Number Mr., Ms., Mrs.First Name MI Last Name Suffix Number Prefix Street or Highway Street Type Suffix Post Office Box Apt./Suite/Room City State Zip Code H1 H2 H3 I J K2 Page 2 of 11 Remarks: SLOFD personnel were dispatched to a report of a deck fire to the rear of 375 Chaplin Lane. E4 arrived on scene, established Chaplin IC and reported a one story, single f5mily residence with heavy fire coming out the front door. They were committed to fire attack on side Alpha and reported all occupants were out of the structure. I arrived on scene and assumed incident command from E4 and declared a Working Incident. E4 was assigned fire attack through the front door on side Alpha. T2 was assigned exterior fire attack on side Charlie, assigned as Division Charlie, and given E3483 to assist. Their directive was to extinguish the exterior deck fire on side Charlie and work with E3483 to shut down utilities. T2 reported that this was a split-level structure with one story on side Alpha and two stories on side Charlie. E3 was assigned back up crew to E4. T1 was assigned vertical ventilation. An arson investigator was requested and Prevention 20 responded code 2 from home. For information on fire cause, see his report. Prevention 20 also is the City Building Official. He determined the home was untenable and posted the building as such. PG&E and Southern California Gas arrived on scene and locked out the utilities to the structure. The City Water Dept representative arrived on scene and was updated on our water use and potential water needs. All water needs were being met. All crews assisted with overhaul of the building after Prevention 20's investigation was ... Full primary narrative can be found in NFIRS 1S - Supplemental Authorization 16750 Berryman, Neal Fire Battalion Chief 10/09/2020 Officer In Charge ID Signature Position or Rank Assignment Date 46955 Hoover, Nicholas Fire Captain Fire Station 1 10/09/2020 Member Making Report ID Signature Position or Rank Assignment Date L M Page 3 of 11 NFIRS-2 Fire 40060 CA 10 09 2020 Fire Station 4 (FS4) 20-04509 0 FDID State Month Day Year Station Number Exposure Property Details B1 1 Not Residential Estimated number of residential living units in the building of origin whether or not all units became involved B2 1 Buildings Not Involved Number of buildings involved B3 None Less than 1 acre Acres burned (outside fires) On-Site Materials Or Products On-Site Materials Storage Use Ignition D1 72-Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch Area of Fire Origin D2 61-Cigarette Heat Source D3 21-Upholstered sofa, chair, vehicle seats Item First Ignited D4 71-Fabric, fiber, cotton, blends, rayon, wool Type of Material First Ignited Cause of Ignition 1 - Intentional 2 - Unintentional 3 - Failure of Equipment or Heat Source 4 - Act of Nature 5 - Cause Under Investigation U - Cause Undetermined After Investigation Factors Contributing to Ignition 11-Abandoned or discarded materials or products Factor Contributing to Ignition Human Factors Contributing to Ignition Check all applicable boxes None 1 - Asleep 2 - Possibly impaired by alcohol or drugs 3 - Unattended person 4 - Possibly Mentally Disabled 5 - Physically Disabled 6 - Multiple Persons Involved 7 - Age Was A Factor Estimated Age of Person Involved Male Female Equipment Involved In Ignition None Equipment Involved Brand Model Serial # Year Equipment Power Source Equipment Power Source Equipment Portability 1 - Portable 2 - Stationary Portable equipment normally can be moved by one or two persons. Fire Suppression Factors None Fire Suppression Factor Mobile Property Involved 1 - Not involved in ignition, but burned 2 - Involved in ignition, but did not burn 3 - Involved in ignition and burned None Mobile Property Type and Make Mobile Property Type Mobile Property Make Local Use Pre-Fire Plan Available Arson Report Attached Police Report Attached Coroner Report Attached Other Reports Attached Mobile Property Model Year State License Plate Number VIN _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ A B C D E1 E2 E3 F1 F2 F3 G H1 H2 Page 4 of 11 NFIRS-3 Structure Fire Structure Type 1 - Enclosed Building 2 - Portable/Mobile Structure 3 - Open Structure 4 - Air-Supported Structure 5 - Tent 6 - Open Platform 7 - Underground Structure 8 - Connective Structure 0 - Other Building Status 1 - Under Construction 2 - In Normal Use 3 - Idle, Not Routinely Used 4 - Under Major Renovation 5 - Vacant and Secured 6 - Vacant and Unsecured 7 - Being Demolished 0 - Other U - Undetermined Building Height 1 Number of Stories At/Above Grade 1 Number of Stories Below Grade Main Floor Size 2568 Total Square Feet OR BY Length (ft) X Width (ft) Fire Origin 1 Below Grade Story of Fire Origin Fire Spread Confined to Object of Origin 2 - Confined to Room of Origin 3 - Confined to Floor of Origin 4 - Confined to Building of Origin 5 - Beyond Building of Origin Number of Stories Damaged By Flame Number of Stories w/Minor Damage (1-24%) Number of Stories w/Significant Damage (25-49%) 1 Number of Stories w/Heavy Damage (50-74%) Number of Stories w/Extreme Damage (75-100%) *Count the roof as part of the highest story Type of Material Contributing Most to Flame Spread K1 Item Contributing Most to Flame Spread K2 Type of Material Contributing Most To Flame Spread Presence of Detectors N - None Present 1 - Present U - Undetermined Detector Type 1 - Smoke 2 - Heat 3 - Combination of Smoke and Heat 4 - Sprinkler, Water Flow Detection 5 - More Than One Type Present 0 - Other U - Undetermined Detector Power Supply 1 - Battery Only 2 - Hardwire Only 3 - Plug-In 4 - Hardwire With Battery 5 - Plug-In With Battery 6 - Mechanical 7 - Multiple Detectors & Power Supplies 0 - Other U - Undetermined Detector Operation 1 - Fire Too Small To Activate 2 - Operated 3 - Failed To Operate U - Undetermined Detector Effectiveness 1 - Alerted Occupants, Occupants Responded 2 - Alerted Occupants, Occupants Failed to Respond 3 - There Were No Occupants 4 - Failed to Alert Occupants U - Undetermined Detector Failure Reason 1 - Power Failure, Shutoff, or Disconnect 2 - Improper Installation or Placement 3 - Defective 4 - Lack of Maintenance, Dirty 5 - Battery Missing or Disconnected 6 - Battery Discharged or Dead 0 - Other U - Undetermined Presence of Automatic Extinguishing System N - None Present 1 - Present 2 - Partial System Present U - Undetermined Type of Automatic Extinguishing System 1 - Wet-Pipe Sprinkler 2 - Dry-Pipe Sprinkler 3 - Other Sprinkler System 4 - Dry Chemical System 5 - Foam System 6 - Halogen-Type System 7 - Carbon Dioxide System 0 - Other U - Undetermined Required if fire was within designed range of AES Operation of Automatic Extinguishing System 1 - Operated/Effective 2 - Operated/Not Effective 3 - Fire Too Small To Activate 4 - Failed To Operate 0 - Other U - Undetermined Required if fire was within designed range Number of Sprinkler Heads Operating Required if system operated Reason for Automatic Extinguishing System Failure 1 - System Shut Off 2 - Not Enough Agent Discharged 3 - Agent Discharged But Did Not Reach Fire 4 - Wrong Type of System 5 - Fire Not In Area Protected 6 - System Components Damaged 7 - Lack of Maintenance 8 - Manual Intervention 0 - Other U - Undetermined Required if system failed or not effective I1 I2 I3 I4 J1 J2 J3 K L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 Page 5 of 11 NFIRS-9 Apparatus or Resources 40060 CA 10 09 2020 Fire Station 4 (FS4) 20-04509 0 FDID State Month Day Year Station Number Exposure B Apparatus/Resource Dates/Times Sent Number of People Apparatus Use Actions Taken ID:BC3 Type:92-Chief officer car Dispatch:10/09/2020 04:47 Arrival:10/09/2020 04:54 Clear:10/09/2020 09:03 Sent 1 Suppression EMS Other 81-Incident command ID:E3 Type:11-Engine Dispatch:10/09/2020 04:47 Arrival:10/09/2020 04:56 Clear: Sent 3 Suppression EMS Other 11-Extinguishment by fire service personnel 12-Salvage & overhaul ID:E4 Type:11-Engine Dispatch:10/09/2020 04:47 Arrival:10/09/2020 04:50 Clear: Sent 3 Suppression EMS Other 11-Extinguishment by fire service personnel 12-Salvage & overhaul ID:PRV20 Type:00-Other apparatus/resource Dispatch: Arrival: Clear: Sent 1 Suppression EMS Other 86-Investigate ID:T1 Type:12-Truck or aerial Dispatch:10/09/2020 04:47 Arrival:10/09/2020 04:55 Clear:10/09/2020 08:13 Sent 4 Suppression EMS Other 51-Ventilate 12-Salvage & overhaul ID:T2 Type:12-Truck or aerial Dispatch:10/09/2020 04:47 Arrival:10/09/2020 04:52 Clear:10/09/2020 09:03 Sent 3 Suppression EMS Other 11-Extinguishment by fire service personnel 12-Salvage & overhaul A Page 6 of 11 NFIRS-10 Personnel 40060 CA 10 09 2020 Fire Station 4 (FS4) 20-04509 0 FDID State Month Day Year Station Number Exposure A Page 7 of 11 B Apparatus/Resource Dates/Times Sent Number of People Apparatus Use Actions Taken ID:BC3 Type:92-Chief officer car Dispatch:10/09/2020 04:47 Arrival:10/09/2020 04:54 Clear:10/09/2020 09:03 Sent 1 Suppression EMS Other 81-Incident command Personnel ID Name Rank Role Attend Actions Taken Berryman, Neal 5588009-Battalion Chief ID:E3 Type:11-Engine Dispatch:10/09/2020 04:47 Arrival:10/09/2020 04:56 Clear: Sent 3 Suppression EMS Other 11-Extinguishment by fire service personnel 12-Salvage & overhaul Personnel ID Name Rank Role Attend Actions Taken 57385 Larson, Jody Captain 14880 Baskin, Erik Engineer 54190 King, Michael Firefighter ID:E4 Type:11-Engine Dispatch:10/09/2020 04:47 Arrival:10/09/2020 04:50 Clear: Sent 3 Suppression EMS Other 11-Extinguishment by fire service personnel 12-Salvage & overhaul Personnel ID Name Rank Role Attend Actions Taken 46955 Hoover, Nicholas Captain 54183 King, John Engineer 50826 Johnston, Kenneth Firefighter ID:PRV20 Type:00-Other apparatus/resource Dispatch: Arrival: Clear: Sent 1 Suppression EMS Other 86-Investigate Personnel ID Name Rank Role Attend Actions Taken Maggio, Rodger Fire Marshal ID:T1 Type:12-Truck or aerial Dispatch:10/09/2020 04:47 Arrival:10/09/2020 04:55 Clear:10/09/2020 08:13 Sent 4 Suppression EMS Other 51-Ventilate 12-Salvage & overhaul Personnel ID Name Rank Role Attend Actions Taken 62800 MacDonald, John Captain 36520 Gatton, Christopher Engineer 50050 Jeckell, Matthew Engineer 92892 Woods, Mitchell Firefighter ID:T2 Type:12-Truck or aerial Dispatch:10/09/2020 04:47 Arrival:10/09/2020 04:52 Clear:10/09/2020 09:03 Sent 3 Suppression EMS Other 11-Extinguishment by fire service personnel 12-Salvage & overhaul Personnel ID Name Rank Role Attend Actions Taken 44555 Hasch, Nathan Captain 60045 Lokkart, Eric Engineer 74579 Robertson, Travis Firefighter Page 8 of 11 NFIRS-1S Supplemental 40060 CA 10 09 2020 Fire Station 4 (FS4) 20-04509 0 FDID State Month Day Year Station Number Exposure Primary Narrative: SLOFD personnel were dispatched to a report of a deck fire to the rear of 374 Chaplin Lane. E4 arrived on scene, established Chaplin IC and reported a one story, single family residence with heavy fire coming out the front door. They were committed to fire attack on side Alpha and reported all occupants were out of the structure. I arrived on scene and assumed incident command from E4 and declared a Working Incident. E4 was assigned fire attack through the front door on side Alpha. T2 was assigned exterior fire attack on side Charlie, assigned as Division Charlie, and given E3483 to assist. Their directive was to extinguish the exterior deck fire on side Charlie and work with E3483 to shut down utilities. T2 reported that this was a split-level structure with one story on side Alpha and two stories on side Charlie. E3 was assigned back up crew to E4. T1 was assigned vertical ventilation. An arson investigator was requested and Prevention 20 responded code 2 from home. For information on fire cause, see his report. Prevention 20 also is the City Building Official. He determined the home was untenable and posted the building as such. PG&E and Southern California Gas arrived on scene and locked out the utilities to the structure. The City Water Dept representative arrived on scene and was updated on our water use and potential water needs. All water needs were being met. All crews assisted with overhaul of the building after Prevention 20's investigation was complete. The occupants were assisted by all crews in salvaging what we could from the structure and assisting them with removal of their personal property from and around the structure. No occupant was allowed on site without being assisted, escorted, and/or supervised by fire department personnel. The Red Cross was contacted to assist the displaced occupants. All the occupants are Cal Poly students so Chief 1 was notified. He made contact with Cal Poly Housing officials so they could assist their students with housing and any other needs. I assumed the role of PIO and gave phone and video interviews to the press requests. All the students refused any assistance from Red Cross and Cal Poly, but the students were still contacted to let them know the resources available. Upon interviewing the occupants, they reported that six people were in the structure, asleep at the time of the fire: are also tenants of the structure, but were not on site at the time of the fire. stated that he was asleep in the room closest to the origin of the fire on side Charlie. He stated he was awoken by an explosion, he looked out his window, and noticed the deck was on fire. He ran around the house and woke up all the occupants and got them to evacuate. He returned to his room to get his computer and noted that the bathroom was also on fire. The occupants stated that the smoke detectors did not wake them up, but that when they were evacuating, they noticed it sounding. I met with the owners of the structure, and escorted them through the structure informing them on what we found when we arrived and the work we completed. The structure was turned over to them and the incident terminated. A Page 9 of 11 Additional Narrative (#1 of 3 ): Truck 1 arrived on scene and was assigned ventilation by IC. Truck 1 personnel gathered ventilation equipment an laddered the building on the A side. Truck 1 tried to do a 360 of the structure but could not access C side because of poor access on the side yard area. Truck one evaluated the structure and saw a large amount of smoke and fire on the C side of the structure and smoke and fire coming from the front door. E4 was fire attack making access through the front door. T1 made the decision that vertical ventilation would be the best method to ventilate the structure because of fire location and construction of the building. Truck 1 accessed the roof and sounded across the peak of the roof to the C side. Base on visible fire from the C side of the structure and E4's report on conditions inside the structure. T1 decided to vertically vent the roof directly over the area of the fire on the C side. T1 firefighter used the chainsaw to open a 4 by 8 foot hole. On initial cut, fire was scene coming from the cut. Further confirming that this was the best location for a ventilation hole. Truck 1 contacted fire attack (E4) and advised we were going to open the hole. Fire attack confirmed to open. T1 opened the hole and had good release of pressure, smoke and fire. Fire attack (E4). Confirmed a positive change in conditions inside the house. Including better viability and less heat. T1 contacted E4 and asked if they needed another hole. E4 requested a second hole over the kitchen area on C/D corner of the house. Truck one sounded toward the C/D corner and checked for roof integrity. The roof was still strong in the area and ventilation continued. T1 visually found the vent pipes on the roof signifying we were in the correct area. Another 4x4 was cut and produced more smoke, fire and a release of pressure. E4 confirmed that conditions had improved in the home. T1 then exited the roof and advised the IC that T1 and personnel were off the roof safely. Truck 1 went to rehab and changed out bottles. Truck 1 was then assigned salvage and overhaul . T1 made contact with occupants to ascertain what they needed from the structure. T1 took that information and entered the building on the A side through the front door and retrieved multiple lap top computers, wallets, car keys and cash. All belongings were given to the occupants. T1 then went back into the structure to assist with overhaul. T1 was then relieved by E3. T1 returned equipment to T1 and then was available at scene. Additional Narrative (#2 of 3 ): E4 arrived at scene after clearing a previous incident and reported a single story, wood frame construction, single family residential structure with smoke and fire showing -- E4 assumed Chaplin IC and moved all incident traffic to a tactical channel. Operator 4 established a water supply with T2, FF4 and E4 made access to the front door as windows were blowing out and fire was rolling out past the eaves. FF4 charged a preconnected hose line, and E4 reported that the structure was involved with fire beyond the initial deck fire that had been dispatched. BC3 assumed command from E4, FF4 and E4 made entry on side A through the front door after knocking down significant fire rolling overhead. FF4 and E4 proceeded to navigate through the structure, extinguishing heavy fire as they proceeded with zero visibility. A vertical ventilation hole was cut by T1 overhead. Conditions inside the structure immediately improved with vertical ventilation, allowing FF4 and E4 to see where fire was hidden in the walls. Additional ventilation holes were cut by T1 further releasing smoke and heat, improving visibility for E4 and FF4 to knock down the rest of the fire. The heat level was in excess of 1200 degrees per the thermal imaging camera, and the structure had many hallways blocking a clear view by the TIC for navigation purposes. FF4 and E4 reached their low air reserve cutoff limit, and exited the building, turning their hoseline over to E3. FF4 and E4 went to rehab, re-engaged after resting, and assisted with overhaul. E4 was released to station 1 for equipment rehab without further incident. Additional Narrative (#3 of 3 ): Fire Origin and Cause Report 345 Chaplin, San Luis Obispo, 10/09/2020 Rodger Maggio, IAAI-CFI October 12, 2020 Property: 2568 sf single family residence Conditions: 58 degrees F, 90% rH, Wind 6 mph NNW. Victim(s): San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Tenants not at home Victim/Witness(s): (Tenants at home) Narrative: On Friday, October 9, 2020 at approximately 5:03 AM I received a call from San Luis Obispo Fire Dispatch requesting an investigator for a structure fire at 345 Chaplin, San Luis Obispo. I responded from my residence and arrived on scene approximately 10 minutes later. I observed an approximate 2500 square foot single family, one story with walk in basement home under going suppression activities. I met with Battalion Chief Neal BERRYMAN who explained that the report came in as a fire on the deck at the rear of the home and when the first in fire unit arrived they observed heavy fire coming out the front door. I next met with residents and who told me That earlier that evening they had hung out downtown, came home and after they went to bed they were awakened by an "explosion" saw a glow on the deck then fire emitting from the master bedroom bathroom. The other occupants were alerted and all self extricated. Scene Examination: Approaching the front of the house (side 'A'), the garage was on my left, I entered through a gate and observed heavy fire damage coming from the upper front door area spreading to both the left and right of the front entry door which appeared to have been open during the fire. The remainder of the front was unremarkable. Walking around clockwise to side 'B' the only observable damage was to the eave area of the B/C corner. The rear portion of the house, side 'C', consisted of the 1st story over a walk-in basement area with a wooden deck off the main living area. I observed heavy fire damage on the deck more pronounced on the north C/D corner then on the south. There was a sliding glass door to a bedroom on the B/C side that was still intact. Moving north there were 2 picture windows that exhibited crazing more pronounce on the north window, another sliding glass door into a living room was observed to the north, the glazing was not intact. Looking to the left I observed another sliding glass door also with the glass broken out. To the left of that door the wooden exterior siding was burned through, and to the left of the burn pattern was a small window into a bathroom on the C/D corner. The glass was missing and Page 10 of 11 the window frame had more pronounced damage on the lower right corner. The deck surface appeared to be 2"x6" boards over joists. the burn damage on the deck was heavier on the north end compared to the south. On the outside corner on the north side of the deck there were 2 propane barbeques, the deck underneath the barbeques were protected from the heat charred as the paint was still visible on the deck surface. Along the north rail were 2 5-gallon propane tanks, they showed signs of heat exposure on the side facing south. In the corner where the deck met with the siding of the house, there were 2 small "Smokey Joe" Webber charcoal barbeques. The one in the corner was not affected by the fire the one under the bathroom window was leaning towards the south as one of the support legs was melted. The deck railing appeared most damaged directly across from the master bedroom sliding glass door, more pronounced on the north then the south. Going down the exterior deck stairs on the south side of the deck, I located the electrical panel for the house on the wall under the deck. The main breaker was turned to the off position by fire fighters while I observed the breaker labeled "kitchen" to have tripped. The panel was unaffected by the fire. there was a door that led to a walk in basement room that was not affected by the fire. Underneath the decking, on towards the north side, to the left of the master bedroom I observed charring and full burn through from the top down. Side 'D' of the structure was mostly unremarkable. Interior Examination: Entering through the front door it appeared by the burn patterns at the top of the entry and the front door was open during the fire and vented out the top of the opening. There was a small entry hall inside the doorway and the kitchen was to my right. The kitchen showed heat effects in the upper portions of the room indicative of the flow of the fire into it. Directly in front of me was a large open living room that led to the back deck by way of a sliding glass door that had failed. Again the majority of the burn patterns were high in the room with ventilation patterns present due to being in the direct air flow path between the front door and the rear slider. The burn patterns were more pronounced on the right side of the room looking toward the rear deck, then on the left side. To the right of the entry hall another hall led to two bedrooms and the master bedroom/bath. The two bedrooms on the right exhibited het and smoke damage primarily. The master bedroom on the left appeared to have suffered the greatest fire damage. The master bedroom was an approximate 10 x 12 foot room with a sliding glass door that led to the rear deck area. The glass was broken out of the frame. There was the remains of a bedframe closest to the window. The burn indicators did not show significant low burn patterns and the majority of the patterns appeared to be influence by ventilation. A doorway on the right side of the room opened into a walk in closet. the wood door suffered extensive burn damage and appeared to have been in the open position during the fire. To the left in the closet was a bathroom. The damage appeared to be high with little low burn patterns. The bathroom window glass was absent. Going out onto the rear deck from the master bedroom I observed small remnants of charred fabric in debris where the deck met the wall of the house between the master bedroom sliding glass door and the bathroom window. This area was directly below the burned through pattern on the exterior wall. I scraped off the debris to expose a large burn through area on the decking. This area corresponded to the indicators mentioned previously on the propane tanks, bathroom window and small barbeque. There appeared to be no electrical wiring, switches, outlets or any obvious accidental sources of ignition in this area. After my scene examination, I located residents and I asked what was on the back deck between the master bedroom and bathroom. told me that there had been a fabric covered sofa in that location. He also stated that he had been out on the sofa smoking cigarettes before he going to bed that morning. Conclusions and Hypothesis: This fire was determined to have originated on the rear deck of 345 Chaplin. The fire's more specific area of origin was against the north east exterior wall between the master bedroom sliding door and the bathroom window. Examination of the area revealed burn through of the decking and a burn pattern on the exterior wall where the sofa had been. The cause of this fire can reasonably be determined to be a discarded cigarette in the sofa. The tenant had been smoking prior to the fire and a cigarette is a competent ignition source for the material first ignited. Page 11 of 11