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The Menlo Park Fire Protection District’s fire investigation into a June 2024 fire at an affordable housing development in North Fair Oaks reported that the cause of the fire was undetermined.
The incident occurred at 2700 Middlefield Road in unincorporated San Mateo County, which was in the process of constructing two multi-family residential structures for low-income families. The fire was confined to one of the two buildings — identified as “Building B” in the report — that would have included 104 units of affordable housing, and was demolished due to damage it had sustained.
Building A, which includes 75 housing units and a childcare center, was spared in the fire. Both buildings were actively in the same construction phase and would have been completed together. Construction resumed on Building A a few weeks after the incident. The property also houses a medical facility that was unaffected by the fire. There were no injuries to construction workers or fire personnel in the incident.
MPFPD Fire Marshal Jon Johnston requested assistance in the fire investigation from the San Mateo County Fire Investigation Task Force and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Authorities performed multiple interviews, looked through pictures, videos, and other evidence, conducted testing, and validated any rumors in making their determination.
“The first fuel ignited was most likely the plastic wrapping” around insulation packaging, the Menlo Park Fire Protection District’s fire investigation report, released Jan. 29, said. “The specific ignition event remains undetermined. As a result, the classification of the fire is undetermined.”
Read the full report at tinyurl.com/mpfpdinvestigation2025.
