No injuries after fire tears through SJ home

SAN JACINTO — No injuries were reported after a fire tore through a San Jacinto home earlier today, Wednesday, Jan. 30. According to one area resident, who said he lives across the street from the home that burned, the residence was possibly vacant and not believed to be currently occupied.

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Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire, with assistance from Morongo Fire Department, San Jacinto PD, and other emergency personnel, responded to a home on Villines Ave., just South of E. Esplanade Ave., around 8:30 a.m., after receiving reports of a structure fire.

When officials arrived at the scene, they reported finding a two-story, single-family home, with heavy smoke billowing from every window of the residence.

Firefighters made an aggressive attack and soon made entry into the burning home, fighting the blaze from both inside and outside the residence. Firefighters reportedly had the fire knocked down and under control within minutes of their arrival.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation, but several area residents, including Andrea Sullivan Kirkendal, voiced her concern on social media, due to several fires in the same area over the last year.

“This is the 3rd house fire in our neighborhood in recent months,” Kirkendal wrote, calling the recent rash of fires, “scary!”

Anyone with information about this or other recent fires is encouraged to contact San Jacinto PD at (951) 654-2702. Callers can remain anonymous. Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s CrimeTips online form.

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

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.