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Quick response stops spread of fire at school

The quick response of a dog walker and firefighters stopped the spread of a compost pile fire at La Entrada School in Menlo Park on Saturday night, May 14.

The picture shown was taken by Ginger Brudos, a former Las Lomitas PTA president, who was in the area and stopped when she saw smoke coming from the school at 2200 Sharon Road.

The compost pile is in the garden adjacent to a classroom where her son is a student. (Ms. Brudos' son and her daughter, a La Entrada graduate, were with her when they spotted the smoke.)

"A dog walker was already on the scene repeatedly filling a bucket from a hose and then carrying it some distance to douse the flames," she said in an email. A few minutes later, a fire truck arrived.

"The firefighter pictured, Mr. Montalvo, is married to a current La Entrada teacher," she said. "We are grateful for their quick response and the heroic actions of the dog walker so that the damage to our school was minimized."