East Petaluma home engulfed in flames Thursday night

An east Petaluma home was engulfed in flames and at least one other was damaged Thursday night after a fire torched a garage and vehicle at a home in the 400 block of Garfield Drive.

No one was injured, said Petaluma Fire Department Battalion Chief Chad Costa, though two people were examined at the scene for smoke inhalation.

The fire started about 7:20 p.m., and as firefighters circled the property, flames shot some 30 feet into the air.

“The first arriving unit observed fire coming from the garage and vehicle parked in the driveway of the primary home with extension of heat and smoke onto an adjacent home,” according to a Petaluma Fire Department news release shortly after midnight. “Firefighters...were able to extinguish the fire prior to it extending into the interior of the home, and without major damage to the adjacent home.”

The Rancho Adobe Fire Protection District and Petaluma Fire Department responded within five minutes, bringing six total engines, and Petaluma police assisted with traffic control, according to the news release and witnesses on scene.

Neighbors said nobody was home at the time of the fire, according to the release.

The families of both homes have been displaced, four people in total, Costa said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation as of Friday morning, he said.

The Petaluma Fire Department estimated damages at $250,000, with damage to the garage and vehicle at one home, fencing between homes and damage to the exterior of a neighbor’s house.

Video taken of the fire shows crackling flames leaping well above the roofline as the sun set on the east Petaluma neighborhood, which backs up to the Petaluma Municipal Airport.