Pair injured, dog saved, after fire destroys Hemet duplex

HEMET, Calif. — Two people sustained minor injuries and were displaced after a residential structure fire tore through a Little Lake area duplex late Sunday night, June 21.

Although a dog was initially feared lost to the overnight blaze, which happened on the 41000 block of Briarwood Ave. in an unincorporated area of Hemet, the family pet was later found safe and uninjured.

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Multiple Cal Fire-Riverside engine companies along with Soboba Fire Department were dispatched to the scene shortly before 11 p.m., after receiving reports of a large and growing fire at the duplex.

An unidentified man is seen trying to slow the fire’s spread while fire officials were still converging on the scene. Brandon Dorn/Hemet Valley Incidents photo

Video filmed at the scene while officials were still arriving in the area showed a sole man attempting to control the large blaze with a garden hose.

However, despite his efforts, the man was eventually pushed back from the fire by the intense heat of the flames, which were seen soaring 30 to 50 feet into the night sky.

When the first engine company and battalion commander arrived at the scene they reported finding the duplex fully engulfed in fire, with flames threatening other nearby homes and vegetation.

Firefighters managed to quickly knock down the blaze and officials reported the fire was contained around 11:13 p.m., according to Cal Fire, who also reported that there was no spread to the other homes or structures.

A dog, initially feared lost to the blaze, was later found safe and returned to its owners, who suffered minor injuries and were displaced by the fire. Cal Fire-Riverside photo

American Red Cross officials were later summoned to provide assistance to the two displaced victims and their dog.

Unconfirmed reports from area residents indicate that since the blaze, unknown subjects have been entering the destroyed residence and looting anything salvageable from the home.

Officials are still investigating the cause of the destructive blaze.

Above video: Brandon Dorn/Hemet Valley Incidents

Above video: Timothy Franzese/Public Safety Incidents

Click any image to open full-size gallery.

Mike Murawski (first two photos above) Cal Fire-Riverside County Fire (second two photos above)

Brandon Dorn/Hemet Valley Incidents photos above

Timothy Franzese/Public Safety Incidents photos above

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 48, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, (the now defunct) Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; 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 29 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 16 grandchildren.

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