Police Bulletin Police Bulletin (January 06, 2006)

Family escapes fire

Four members of a family jumped from the second-floor window of their home in the 4100 block of Garibaldi Place Dec. 29 to escape a fire that started after a fireplace ember ignited the pajama leg of an 11-year-old girl. When the girl's pajama leg caught on fire, she ran to the bathroom and put out the fire with water, but the fire had already spread to the carpet and then the family's Christmas tree. The girl was on the first floor of the building and ran out the front door, but the rest of her family members escaped from the second-floor window. The father suffered cuts to his forehead and other parts of his body from landing on the family's van when he jumped. A 17-year-old son incurred minor facial burns and both father and son suffered from smoke inhalation. The house was destroyed in the fire and damages to the building alone are estimated at $700,000. The fire caused minor damage to the homes on both sides of family's home. CHP officer injured while moving disabled vehicle

A California Highway Patrol officer was hit and injured by a car that spun out on I-680 near the Sunol Boulevard exit during last week's heavy rainstorms. The officer was in a CHP cruiser preparing to help another car that had spun out earlier when his vehicle was hit. A 1998 Toyota Camry spun out and was disabled after hitting the median and two officers responded to the scene. They were attempting to move the car off the median when a 2001 Chevy Malibu spun out and hit the officer's stopped vehicle. The second officer had already driven away to create a break in traffic to allow the first officer to move the vehicle. The injured officer was taken to ValleyCare and was treated and released the same day.

The CHP is cautioning motorists to slow down when driving in the rain and beware of unsafe water build-up on the roads.

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