Cayetano Dr. fire guts garage, boat and two vehices parked in driveway

Residents sustain minor injuries as boat fuel leak
linked to morning blaze
by Bert Williams, Staff Writer
Last Thursday morning Jeff Hampton opened the door to his garage
at 282 Cayetano Drive, and within moments was confronted with a
roaring inferno. The dispatcher recorded the call reporting the
fire at 6:11 a.m.
A fire truck rolled out of the station at 6:13, and arrived with
four firefighters at 6:16, finding the garage already fully
engulfed in flames. Soon two other trucks, including one from
Rincon Valley, several other fire vehicles, and 17 firefighters had
converged on the scene.
“Our goal was to keep it out of the living space and out of the
attic,” said Windsor Battalion Chief Joe Giordani. “We were totally
successful at that.” The interior of the house did sustain moderate
smoke and water damage. The fire was under control by 6:55 a.m.
Homeowners Jeff and Erin Hampton were taken to Kaiser Hospital,
treated for first and second degree burns, and later released.
There were no injuries among the firefighters.
Investigators believed that a bass boat stored in the garage had
developed a fuel leak, creating a pool of gasoline on the garage
floor. They theorize that when Hampton opened the door, air
currents stirred up the gasoline fumes which were then ignited by
the nearby water heater.
Damage was initially estimated at approximately $300,000,
including the boat in the garage and two vehicles parked in the
driveway.