Merced County firefighters respond to large blaze in Atwater, two homes damaged

Merced County firefighters responded Sunday afternoon to a large structure fire in Atwater that damaged two homes.

Details are preliminary.

The fire was reported at 4:50 p.m. in the 3000 block of Mermaid Drive, northeast of Shaffer and Bellevue roads, according to Atwater Fire Department/Cal Fire Battalion Chief Robert Ayuso

No injuries were reported and the cause remains under investigation.

Firefighters arrived and observed a large garage fire at the first home. That fire spread into the attic of an adjacent home.

According to Ayuso “quick and efficient aggressive fire attack” limited damaged to the second home.

None of the residents were inside either home when the fire erupted. The fires were contained in about an hour, Ayuso said.

“We do have, I believe three residents that are going to be displaced between the two homes,” Ayuso said.

Around a dozen firefighters responded from Atwater and Merced County Fire Department/Cal Fire.

“With the limited staffing that we do have it was definitely an aggressive fire attack which was paramount in the containment of the fires,” Ayuso said.

This story was originally published May 30, 2021 at 6:38 PM.