2 Modesto apartments burn; 6 homeless

Fires wreaked havoc Monday afternoon at two apartment complexes in Modesto, leaving six people without a home.

The unrelated fires occurred within a 40-minute period, at the Valley Oak Apartments on Oakdale Road and the Bridgeford Apartments near Sylvan and McHenry avenues.

The first blaze, reported at 3:27 p.m., destroyed a ground-floor dwelling at the Valley Oak Apartments at 2300 Oakdale Road. Modesto city firefighters arriving at the scene found smoke pouring from the unit and evacuated one wing of the complex, said Battalion Chief Terry Inderbitzen.

Firefighters brought the blaze under control in seven minutes, he said. They searched the dwelling and found no one inside. Personnel also searched the second-floor apartment above the dwelling, rescuing a dog.

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