HEMET: Abandoned home destroyed by blaze, officials investigating
HEMET — Officials are investigating the cause of a fire that destroyed an abandoned home in Hemet this morning. The blaze, which firefighters spent less than 30 minutes knocking down, happened on the 700 block of N. State Street, just north of E. Menlo Avenue.
Firefighters pull down wood sheets that had been covering the home’s windows and doors. John Strangis photo
City of Hemet Fire and Police Departments along with other emergency first responders were dispatched to the residence about 3:15 a.m., after several people called 911 to report heavy flames coming from the home.
When they arrived at the scene firefighters reported finding a single-story residence with heavy fire showing from the roof. Witnesses at the scene later reported seeing flames shooting 20 to 30 feet in the air from the top of the residence.
With the fire rapidly spreading throughout the home, firefighters initiated an aggressive attack on the blaze, and firefighters set up to fight the fire from the roof as well as from the ground.
As firefighters on the roof continued putting water on the fire, officials on the ground used chain saws to cut holes through wood sheets that were covering the windows and doors of the abandoned home.
Officials determined the home was abandoned; however, at least one area resident later reported that despite wood sheets covering all ways into and out of the residence, homeless individuals had repeatedly been found living inside the location.
There were no reported injuries related to the fire and officials remained at the scene for several hours conducting overhaul operations.
The cause of the fire is still unknown and the investigation is ongoing.
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Trevor Montgomery, who recently moved from Riverside County to Shasta County, runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook as well as 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, breaking his back and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries 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 27 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 14 grandchildren.