On Jan. 12, 2023, at 11:36 p.m, a structure fire occurred at an apartment complex in Petaluma. The Petaluma Fire Department, Petaluma Police Department, and Rancho Adobe Fire District all responded to the accident. 

Within 3 minutes of the Petaluma Fire Department’s arrival, the crew found the fire raging throughout two stories of the building, and five vehicles were in flames. Luckily, there were no fatalities or injuries, and everybody was safely evacuated with no trapped occupants in the structure. 

The Red Cross provided short-term housing for the 15 people whose apartments were heavily damaged or destroyed by the fire. 

The cause of the fire is unknown, but the Fire Prevention Bureau and a Sonoma County Fire Investigations team are currently looking into the occurrence. PG&E shut off the gas to the complex, and a Petaluma City building representative deemed the complex uninhabitable and red-tagged it. 

There was about $500,000 total in damage, and thanks to the fire department, they ceased the spreading of the fires in time for further damage to be prevented once they arrived.