No one was hurt in a two-alarm fire at a senior care facility in Walnut Creek on Thursday afternoon, one that led several callers to report "the sounds of explosions" to emergency dispatchers.
The fire started at about 3:50 p.m. at the small facility on Castle Hill Rd. near Danville Blvd. and I-680. Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Spokesperson Steve Hill told KCBS Radio the building was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived on scene.
"All residents accounted for and being transported to a safe location," an early tweet from the department said.
Five residents have been evacuated. None were hurt.
Two Good Samaritans in the area, which Hill said were both juveniles, helped evacuate residents and staff as they were pouring out of the house.
Windy conditions pushed embers to two adjacent homes, leading those structures and a balcony on an apartment building across the interstate to catch fire. All fires, including the senior care facility, have since been put out.
Roads in the immediate area were closed.
"We had a pretty challenging situation out here," Hill said.
As for a cause, Hill pointed to oxygen and gas tanks stored at the senior care facility as possible reasons those in the immediate area heard explosions. It's thought the fire could have led to an explosion or multiple explosions of tanks, but it is not yet clear which happened first.
The fire is under investigation.
