Garage gutted, vehicles destroyed by Hemet house fire

January 21, 2021 Trevor Montgomery

HEMET, Calif. — Authorities say a Hemet home was heavily damaged and a family was displaced after a blaze tore through the family’s garage Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 19. Although no injuries were reported, the fire also destroyed a car that was parked inside the garage as well as a van that was parked in the driveway.

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City of Hemet Fire and Police personnel were dispatched to the home on S. Walnut Street, between W. Central and W. Mayberry avenues, around 4:30 p.m., after receiving reports of a structure fire.

A Hemet PD motor officer was first to arrive at the scene and reported a well-involved garage fire burning at the home.

Firefighters survey the damage caused by a garage fire that destroyed two vehicles and extended partially into the residence, displacing a family of five. Robert Carter & Timothy Franzese/Public Safety Incidents photo

While firefighters were beginning to arrive the officer made sure everyone had made it out of the home safely and then began providing traffic control for arriving fire and rescue crews.

Due to the size of the fire, which was threatening to move from the garage into the interior of the home, a battalion chief requested another engine and truck company from Calfire to assist in battling the blaze.

After firefighters knocked down the flames and extinguished the fire they checked to confirm that nobody had been inside the home, which sustained heavy smoke damage throughout the residence.

Red Cross was later requested to the scene to assist two adults and three children who were displaced by the fire, which firefighters determined was caused by an electrical short somewhere near the front, north-side wall of the home’s garage.

Click any image to open full-size gallery.

Robert Carter & Timothy Franzese/Public Safety Incidents photos above, video below.

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 49, 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 KRCR News Channel 7 and Mountain Echo in Shasta County, Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; 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. (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 30 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 18 grandchildren.