Father with toddler leaps from 2nd story during fire that killed 2

UPDATED: Saturday, Jan. 19, 1:30 p.m., With photos from scene.

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PERRIS — Two people have been confirmed killed and two people were injured in a fatal blaze that erupted at a Perris residence early this morning, Saturday, Jan. 19. The two injured included a father who reportedly leaped to safety from a second story while holding a toddler. Both the man and young girl remain hospitalized with unspecified injuries.

Although numerous media organizations reported three people were killed in the deadly fire, as was initially reported by fire officials, Cal Fire Public Information Officer Jody Hagemann later confirmed to RCNS in a phone interview that the death toll as of this report included two people.

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Twenty-seven firefighters from seven engine companies and a truck company were dispatched to the 1400 block of Portrait St., southwest of E. Nuevo Rd. and Redlands Ave., around 2:15 a.m. 911 callers reported a residential structure fire with victims trapped inside the home, according to Hagemann. They were assisted by a Breathing Support Unit.

“The first arriving engine company reported heavy smoke and fire visible from the second floor of a single family home,” Hagemann explained. Firefighters found two injured victims outside the burning home and area residents told officials there could be additional victims trapped inside the burning residence.

Area resident and neighbor Norman Talavera later told Nathan Wilking of RVCNews he was inside his home when he heard a commotion outside followed by people screaming for help. Talavera said when he looked out his window he saw a man jump from a second story balcony with a young girl.

Talavera described that while trying to protect his daughter – clutching the little girl to his chest – the father who leaped to safety reportedly landed on his back, causing his injuries. After landing on the ground the man could not move or stand up due to his back injuries and area residents took the child, holding and comforting her until emergency personnel began flooding into the small neighborhood.

By the time Talavera ran outside, he says he found the home engulfed in flames, and he says he grabbed a garden hose to try and slow the fire’s advance. He later told Wilking he believed a family of four, including a mother, father, and two children, lived at the residence.

While firefighters battled the blaze, paramedics evaluated and treated the father and his daughter. AMR eventually transported both victims to area hospitals “for treatment of moderate injuries,” said Hagemann.

Witnesses and neighbors said it appeared the fire began toward the rear of the residence and that as firefighters battled the blaze, the roof partially collapsed into the burning home.

Hagemann later updated around 2:50 a.m. that firefighters had knocked the fire down. After extinguishing the blaze, firefighters “located two victims who perished inside the home,” according to Hagemann. Based on reports from the scene, the victims were believed to be a mother and child.

Southern California Edison and Southern California Gas Company were summoned to the scene to shut off utilities to the destroyed residence, and the Incident Commander later requested assistance by the American Red Cross for the displaced man and his daughter.

As of this report, fire and arson investigators remain at the scene of the blaze and are still working to determine the cause of the fire, Hagemann told RCNS.

This is a developing story that will be updated as new information is available.

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Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta 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. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s 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 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.