Sentinel staff report–
The cause of an apartment fire in Citrus Heights that damaged four units and killed a dog on Thursday has been deemed “undetermined” by Metro Fire.
Fire Captain Chris Vestal told The Sentinel on Friday that the classification meant “there was no definitive cause identified, but also nothing suspicious.”
Also on The Sentinel: Citrus Heights arson incidents spiked in 4th quarter of 2020
The April 8 fire was reported around 3 p.m. at The Meadows apartment complex on Greenback Lane, with flames spreading to an attic before crews were able to extinguish the blaze. One resident at the complex later showed The Sentinel photos of a Starbucks coffee can found at the complex, which he said “looks like an incendiary device.”
Vestal was shown a photo of the can, but said it was “simply a can that due to heat bleve’d,” referring to the acronym for “boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion.”
“Fluid heats up, steams/off gasses, and the can can’t contain the increased pressure,” the captain said. “There’s simply no ‘ignition’ component in that.”
Several residents at the apartment complex said another fire occurred at The Meadows two years ago, which also displaced several residents.
No injuries to residents were reported in Thursday’s blaze, but a firefighter suffered a foot injury during the incident.
