The fire raged with big flames and lots of smoke right next to apartments. No one was hurt, nor was anyone's residence damaged. But the fire did destroy three vehicles parked in a carport, and the roof of the carport, at an apartment building on H and 10th streets.
The fire broke out just before 3 a.m. and while some residents evacuated, Union City firefighters told others it was safer for them to temporarily shelter-in-place because of a thick wall of smoke between them and the burning cars.
"This fire was challenging in the sense that we had a number of victims that were behind the structure in the smoke that awoke to the fire and were concerned -- so we had to ensure their safety, at the same time that we fought that fire," said Union City Asst. Chief Andy Smith.
"I woke everybody up, and we called everybody, we all got out. Nobody was hurt, and finally nothing damaged. I mean that was the most important," said resident Adolfo Leon.
Firefighters had to break a couple apartment windows to vent the homes -- just in case the fire spread. But in the end, they were able to keep the flames away.
A hazmat team from the Fremont fire department helped contain the melted mess from the cars away from the sewers and say residents will be responsible for cleaning up the rest.
All the residents were able to return home. Now it's up to investigators to determine a cause of this fire.
