Hayward home severely damaged in afternoon fire

Firefighters remained at the scene of a one-alarm fire that caused heavy damage to a home in Hayward Thursday afternoon, a Hayward fire official said.

The fire was reported at 1:35 p.m. at 2225 Beckham Lane. Firefighters had the blaze under control by 1:43 p.m., but not before 70 to 80 percent of the house was lost, fire Capt. Thor Poulsen said.

Arriving firefighters found thick smoke and flames coming from the roof and attic of the single-family home.

After the blaze was controlled, firefighters remained on the roof making ventilation cuts to ensure that the fire was completely extinguished, Poulsen said.

He estimated that the fire caused between $150,000 and $250,000 in damage. As of 2 p.m., he was still unsure where the house's occupants were, but said no one had exited the home during the fire.

"We're still conducting several searches due to the amount of heat and smoke in this fire," Poulson said.