LA QUINTA: Citrus Club at La Quinta Resort damaged by two-alarm attic blaze
LA QUINTA – Firefighters battled a two-alarm structure fire at the Citrus Club at La Quinta Resort in the 50000 block of Mandarina in La Quinta Saturday, Jan. 7.
Cal Fire/Riverside County firefighters responded to the club after Riverside County emergency dispatchers received a 911 call from an employee reporting smoke coming from the locker room and kitchen at the location about 2:51 p.m.
Thirty-eight firefighters from eight engine companies and two truck companies responded to the fire, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Public Information Officer April Newman. They were assisted by a breathing support unit.
The first arriving engine company reported a two-story, 5,000-square-foot club house, with moderate smoke coming from the roof.
Officials at the scene requested a second alarm as firefighters located a working attic fire at the location. Firefighters began an immediate and aggressive attack, and were soon making progress on the fire and checking for extension into other areas of the large structure.
“The fire was contained to a portion of wall, utility room, and locker room,” Newman reported about 4:45 p.m.
Fire officials estimated the fire’s loss to be about $250,000, however they saved about $10 million dollars from the remaining portions of the structure.
Fire officials remained at the scene of the fire for several hours after the fire was extinguished for extensive overhaul and mop-up operations.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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Trevor Montgomery spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg in an off-duty accident.
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including the Robert Presley Detention Center, the Southwest Station in Temecula, the Hemet Station, and the Lake Elsinore Station, along with many other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, Personnel and Background Investigations and he finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator.
Trevor has been married for more than 26 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and has 13 children and 12 – soon to be 13 – grandchildren.