Discarded ashes appear to be cause of a fire at East Bay home

A fire in Concord that damaged a home and its garage exemplified the dangers of throwing away ash or charcoal from a fireplace, fire officials said Monday.

The blaze at about 2:50 a.m. caused approximately $ 75,000 damage to the home in the 1800 block of N. Fifth Street, but a man who was the lone resident and his dog both escaped without injury, fire spokesman Steve Hill of the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District said.

The dog’s barking alerted the man to the fire, Hill said.

Firefighters determined the fire started because discarded ash from the man’s fireplace that was thrown in a plastic garbage bin reignited.

“Think of how long we spend at a scene to make sure the embers don’t reignite,” Hill said. “We will spend hours at a structure, sometimes days if it’s a really big fire.”

According to Hill, flame embers can become embedded within ashes or charcoal that are capable of rekindling. Fire investigator Kevin Brown said that’s what happened in this instance.

“Even a couple of days after you’ve had that fire, those coals can still be hot,” Brown said. “When people clean up their fireplaces, they stir it around, and now you give those coals some air and a fuel source.”

Instead, officials aid the smart move is to toss fire ash and charcoal in a metal container, then stir them and apply water. The metal container should be away from any other objects.

“These coals,” Hill said, “can start fires long after you think they’re out.”