2 toddlers and 3 dogs dead, 4 others critically burned, after Elsinore area blaze
LAKELAND VILLAGE, Calif. — Authorities and family members say two young children, ages 1 and 2, were killed, while another four victims were critically injured and remain hospitalized after a deadly fire tore through a Lakeland Village home in the Lake Elsinore area yesterday afternoon, Monday, Jan. 25.
Three family dogs were also killed in the blaze, which took about an hour and a half to extinguish and happened in the 32900 block of Blackwell Boulevard near Brightman Avenue, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.
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More than two dozen Cal Fire and Murrieta Fire personnel from seven engine companies and a truck company were dispatched to the scene around 2:45 p.m., after receiving reports of a residential structure fire, according to Cal Fire officials.
When firefighters arrived at the one-story, single-family dwelling they found a fully involved house fire burning with heavy smoke billowing from the garage and home’s windows.
More than two dozen firefighters responded to yesterday’s fatal blaze in Lakeland Village. Henry Becerra, Marc Danielian photo
Firefighters who began an aggressive fire attack and entered the home to battle the blaze encountered walls of flames burning in several rooms throughout the residence.
Cal Fire updated that the fire had been brought under control just after 4 p.m.
After the blaze was knocked down, firefighters searching the residence found two deceased toddlers, ages 1 and 2, in the home’s garage, according to Cal Fire and family members.
Neither of the young children’s names had been publicly released as of this report.
Friends and family of the victims have said that four other victims were taken by ground ambulances to area hospitals with serious to critical burn injuries.
A Lakeland Village home was destroyed in a blaze that left two toddlers and three dogs dead and injured four others, including “two grandbabies”, according to officials and friends of the family left devastated by the deadly fire. Marc Danielian photo
One of the surviving victims, an elderly woman whose name has not been released, sustained burns to more than 90% of her body and is in “extremely critical” condition, while three other victims, including “two grandbabies”, suffered critical burns ranging from 20% to 30% of their bodies.
“All three of them are in induced comas and at burn units to give them the best possibility of recovery,” a friend of the family wrote in a GoFundMe fundraiser that had raised more than $14,000 as of this morning.
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Officials later said electrical lines were found down at the property, but could not immediately say if they were the cause of the deadly blaze, which remains under investigation.
SoCalGas and Southern California Edison were later summoned to the scene to repair the damaged utility lines.
This is a developing story that will be updated as new information becomes available.
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Marc Danielian photos above
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Trevor Montgomery, 49, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS). Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network.
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.
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