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Apple building suffers extensive damage in fire :Three-alarm blaze at Apple's Cupertino campus damages building
The fire broke out around 10 p.m. Tuesday in the area of a heating and air conditioning unit on the roof of the two-story Apple Six building at 20604 Valley Green Drive, Santa Clara County fire captain Daron Pisciotta said. Construction crews had been working on the unit when the fire started, he added.
No one was injured but smoke and water damage to the west wing of the 120,000-square-foot building was extensive. Firefighters controlled the blaze in about three hours but remained on the scene until 7 a.m.
Worry not, Apple lovers. The blaze that damaged a building on the tech giant's Cupertino campus Tuesday evening may have sparked quite a commotion, but apparently won't cause a shortage of iPods, iPhones or laptops.
No firefighters or Mac-savvy employees were injured in the blaze.
The fire, which started around 10 p.m., caused significant damage to a 120,000-square-foot building located at 20705 Valley Green Drive, according to Santa Clara County Fire Battalion Chief Kendall Pearson.
Pearson said the fire was limited to the attic and roof and was difficult to battle. Inside the gray, two-story building - which has two wings and is separated by a center atrium - firefighters found a typical office setting: workstations, cubicles, iMacs.
"My guess is for the near future, that one wing of the building will probably be unusable," Pearson said.
Early today, it was difficult to tell that the fire - which gained national media attention - had even occurred. Streams of sudsy water flowing into the street were the only remnants of the blaze. Fire crews had gone home by 7 a.m., and heavy Apple security prevented any closer look.
A few Apple employees, who were going to work across the street at many of the other Apple buildings, declined to speak publicly. News of the fire buzzed on Silicon Valley blogs, computer gadget Web sites and even garnered a brief mention on the "Today" show.
An Apple spokeswoman confirmed only that a fire had taken
"The cause appears to be accidental and related to construction," Pisciotta said
No firefighters or Mac-savvy employees were injured in the blaze.
The fire, which started around 10 p.m., caused significant damage to a 120,000-square-foot building located at 20705 Valley Green Drive, according to Santa Clara County Fire Battalion Chief Kendall Pearson.
Pearson said the fire was limited to the attic and roof and was difficult to battle. Inside the gray, two-story building - which has two wings and is separated by a center atrium - firefighters found a typical office setting: workstations, cubicles, iMacs.
"My guess is for the near future, that one wing of the building will probably be unusable," Pearson said.
Early today, it was difficult to tell that the fire - which gained national media attention - had even occurred. Streams of sudsy water flowing into the street were the only remnants of the blaze. Fire crews had gone home by 7 a.m., and heavy Apple security prevented any closer look.
A few Apple employees, who were going to work across the street at many of the other Apple buildings, declined to speak publicly. News of the fire buzzed on Silicon Valley blogs, computer gadget Web sites and even garnered a brief mention on the "Today" show.
An Apple spokeswoman confirmed only that a fire had taken
"The cause appears to be accidental and related to construction," Pisciotta said
place and would not provide any more details, referring all calls to the Santa Clara County Fire Department.
Tuesday night, the fire created a stir for employees and passersby. Heavy smoke was visible in the area, and some onlookers watched firefighters battle the blaze and snapped pictures on their iPhones.
Investigators believe the fire was caused accidentally by construction work taking place to a rooftop air conditioning unit. Workers at the site reported the fire and Apple security evacuated the building before firefighters arrived to the scene.
It took about 50 firefighters more than 3 1/2 hours to get the blaze under control. Pearson said finding the fire in the attic spaces was difficult, even with the help of a thermal imaging camera.
"Our ability to get to the fire under the roof was problematic and it took some time," Pearson said. "There was not a lot of active, visible fire. There was quite a bit of smoke for quite some time."
Tuesday night, the fire created a stir for employees and passersby. Heavy smoke was visible in the area, and some onlookers watched firefighters battle the blaze and snapped pictures on their iPhones.
Investigators believe the fire was caused accidentally by construction work taking place to a rooftop air conditioning unit. Workers at the site reported the fire and Apple security evacuated the building before firefighters arrived to the scene.
It took about 50 firefighters more than 3 1/2 hours to get the blaze under control. Pearson said finding the fire in the attic spaces was difficult, even with the help of a thermal imaging camera.
"Our ability to get to the fire under the roof was problematic and it took some time," Pearson said. "There was not a lot of active, visible fire. There was quite a bit of smoke for quite some time."
