JOHNSON PARK: Fire erupts at home around corner from fire station

JOHNSON PARK — Firefighters from multiple area stations and agencies battled a house fire that erupted around the corner from a Cal Fire station, Sunday, Mar. 4. Although the residents were home when the destructive blaze broke out, they escaped injury, according to officials.

“The crews from several different agencies worked together and did what needed to be done,” Burney Fire Chief Monte Keady said after the successful knockdown.

Fire crews from Burney Fire District, Cal Fire’s Station #14 in Johnson Park, and volunteer companies from Cassel and Hat Creek were dispatched to a house on fire at 21531 Sonoma Street in Johnson Park a 2:39 p.m.

Seventeen firefighters responded to the scene with six apparatus and a breathing support unit. Cal Fire Firefighters were first to arrive at the home, which sits barely one tenth of a mile from the station house.

When officials began arriving at the home, they reported finding a two-story detached shop with living quarters above that was 25% involved, with flames and heavy black smoke pouring from the upstairs area.

Although firefighters made quick work extinguishing the exposed portions of the fire, the combined crews had to work to find the source of continuing fire.

Officials eventually opened and vented the home’s skylights, allowing smoke and heat to dissipate – which allowed for better visibility while searching for the hidden source of fire. Once visibility within the home improved, fire crews located a substantial fire continuing to burn inside the walls of the home.

Firefighters eventually managed a successful knockdown and began extensive overhaul operations and PG & E officials were summoned to the home to shut off utilities to the residence.

Officials later estimated damage to the structure at about $10,000; however, damage was much more extensive to the building’s contents.

There were no reported injuries related to the fire and the cause of the blaze is under investigation.

 

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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.