Calif. Woman dies in House Fire, Man Pulled to Safety

Jan. 31, 2013
A woman died in a late Wednesday night fire at a Sunnyvale mobile home community, but a police officer saved a man from the burning home.

Jan. 31--SUNNYVALE -- A woman died in a late Wednesday night fire at a Sunnyvale mobile home community, but a police officer saved a man from the burning home, officials said Thursday.

Capt. Dave Verbrugge said the first police officer who arrived at the fire pulled the man to safety as flames rose from the two-bedroom house at the Plaza del Ray complex at 1225 Vienna Drive.

Verbrugge said a man saw smoke coming out of the at around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday. The man banged on the door in an effort to rouse the residents, but when no one answered, he called 911.

The first officer to arrived saw the house on fire and the front door open, according to Verbrugge. He looked inside and saw the front room filled with smoke and could make out someone walking. The officer called for the person to come out, but there was no response. He went inside and pulled a man out, Verbrugge said.

Firefighters soon arrived and began to fight the fire and also looks for other people inside. They found the woman dead in a back bedroom.

Michael Driver, a neighbor, said the woman had lived there for about eight months and was known to smoke in her room. Driver said a man walking his dog was the first to spot the fire and was the one who banged on the door.

Fire investigators are at the home to determine a cause of the fire.

Check back for updates to this story.

Contact Mark Gomez at 408-920-5869. Follow him on Twitter @MarkMgomez

Copyright 2013 - San Jose Mercury News

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