HEMET: Firefighters quickly knock down vehicle blaze
HEMET – City of Hemet firefighters made quick work knocking down a blaze that destroyed an abandoned vehicle Friday, April 22. The fire was reported on Kirby Street near the intersection of Stetson Avenue in Hemet.
Firefighters had the fire knocked down within ten minutes of their arrival. John Strangis photo
Hemet Fire and Police personnel responded to the vehicle fire about 6 p.m., after several citizens called 911 to report seeing the fire or seeing thick, choking, black smoke in the area.
The first arriving fire officials arrived within minutes of the dispatched call and they reported finding a gold colored sedan with an engine compartment that was fully engulfed in fire.
Flames were quickly spreading from the engine compartment into the passenger area of the burning car.
Firefighters mounted an aggressive attack and had the fire knocked down within 10 minutes of their arrival at the location.
According to officials at the scene, the vehicle appeared to have been abandoned. After they extinguished the fire, firefighter’s determined the vehicle was unoccupied at the time of the fire.
Hemet police officers were requested to the scene to determine if the vehicle had been reported as stolen and to have the vehicle towed from the scene.
The cause of the fire is unknown at this time.
Their investigation is active and ongoing.
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Trevor Montgomery runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News and Anza Valley Outlook and also writes for Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County.
Trevor 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 and breaking his back in an off-duty accident.
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with 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 and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
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.
I was behind this guy on Stetson last night just before he turned onto Kirby. Car was definitely on fire before he must have abandoned it.