Firefighters race to quell several Christmas blazes throughout Bay Area

Firefighters across the Bay Area were busy on Christmas Day, quashing fires all over the region. 

A three-alarm fire broke out Monday in a Los Altos apartment building around 5:40 a.m. on El Camino Real near North San Avenue. 

 Mountain View and Palo Alto firefighters were deployed to help put out the flames. 

It wasn't until several hours in the afternoon did the Santa Clara County Fire Department declared the fire to be under control.

Apartment fires were also seen in the East Bay, with a morning San Leandro fire displacing three people, including two elderly citizens. The American Red Cross came to the aid of those displaced on the holiday. 

The San Leandro fire also began early in the morning shortly before 6 a.m. at a residential building at 14550 East 14th Street. The blaze was contained, according to the Alameda County Fire Department. 

Con Fire crews also responded to a multi-story residential building fire in Martinez. No injuries were reported, Con Fire said. This happened in the 3900 block of Alhambra Ave. near a carport. The fire is under investigation. 

Christmas Eve also saw its fair share of fires; one woman was killed and another one critically injured after a fire raged through their Menlo Park apartment around 3:15 a.m. at 1017 Madera Ave. 

Two chihuahuas were also killed in the inferno.

Outside of California, international pop star singer Beyoncé Knowles-Carter's childhood home in Houston caught fire Christmas morning. 

The Third Ward house fire was successfully contained within 10 minutes, according to the Houston Fire Department. A couple and two children were evacuated before fire crews arrived.