When firefighters arrived at 110 Corte Madera Road in Portola Valley around 4:45 a.m. this morning (Monday, Dec. 17), they quickly shut down the gas line feeding a small fire that had erupted from a gas-powered furnace in the garage.

A resident heard "a small explosion" and had called 911, Fire Chief Dan Ghiorso of the Woodside Fire Protection District told the Almanac.

The incident lasted all of 16 minutes, with no injuries and no damage other than to the furnace, Chief Ghiorso said.

"I've never seen something where it's burning up the heater itself. That's kind of weird," he said.

— Dave Boyce

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