Elderly victim & cats displaced after Hemet fire

HEMET — An elderly homeowner escaped injury after a fire broke out at a Hemet residence earlier today, Friday, Mar. 1. The fire, which displaced the woman and several of her cats, erupted in the kitchen of a home on the 1000 block of Cordova Dr., northwest of N. Lyon and W. Oakland avenues.

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City of Hemet Fire and Police Departments, along with AMR and other emergency personnel, were dispatched to the home just after 11 a.m., after receiving reports of a residential structure fire. More than 15 firefighters from four engine companies and one truck company responded to the blaze.

Hemet Fire’s Engine 1 and Battalion 1 were the first to arrive at the scene. Officials reported smoke showing from the home and requested an additional engine company respond to the scene.

Upon entering the residence, firefighters found a kitchen fire that had spread to the living room. Firefighters quickly knocked down the fire, bringing it under control within minutes of their arrival.

Firefighters later learned the owner had self-evacuated from the home prior to their arrival. Although the woman was uninjured, several of her cats that had been inside the residence when the fire erupted were unaccounted for as of this report.

The victim later told officials that as she fled her burning home she left the front door open so her cats could get out of the residence and she was hopeful her pets had escaped the blaze unharmed.

The elderly victim was displaced by the fire, but American Red Cross officials were summoned and responded to the scene to assist her with temporary housing.

No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

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

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Gary Rainwater & Timothy Franzese/Public Safety Incidents photos

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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.