Calif. Crews Deal with Two Deadly Blazes

Dec. 10, 2013
An elderly woman and a man in his 50s died in separate house fires in Stockton.

Dec. 10--STOCKTON -- A man in his early 50s died Monday afternoon as the result of a north Stockton house fire just a few blocks east of where an elderly woman succumbed a day earlier to smoke from a fire in her home, according to the Stockton Fire Department.

Monday's fire was in a single-family residence at the southwest corner of Burns Place and MacDuff Avenue. The victim has not yet been identified pending notification of family members.

Sunday's fire was in a single-family residence in the 2000 block of Portola Avenue. The San Joaquin County Coroner's Office identified the victim in that fire as Carla Vadis Larson, 73.

According to Fire Department spokesman Jeff Whitlock, the victim in the Burns Place fire was discovered in a back bedroom when firefighters arrived shortly after 2:30 p.m. Monday. They had to endure "flames blowing out the front of the house and a tremendous amount of obstacles" -- including furniture and a lot of miscellaneous stacked items -- to get to the victim, Whitlock said.

The man was taken outside, where firefighters administered CPR and were able to get a pulse, but he was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

"Smoke inhalation appears to be the cause of his demise," Whitlock said. In addition to the victim, three dogs and one cat died in the fire.

Neighbors including David Schwemley, 46, and Sydney Willis, 16, indicated another neighbor was the first to see smoke coming from the house and call the Fire Department. Some neighbors attempted to get into the house but were forced back by the intense flames in the front of the house.

Schwemley and Willis believed the victim lived with his sister, who was not at home when the fire broke out. They indicated the victim's mother lived in the home for at least 15 years until moving to another residence nearby.

"This is a tragic, tragic incident," Whitlock said. "I don't know if they had a working smoke detector, but smoke inhalation appears to be the cause. It lends the cause that people need to check your smoke detectors."

Sunday's fire on Portola Avenue was reported at 11:45 a.m. When firefighters arrived, they discovered Larson in full arrest. She was taken to a hospital but could not be revived.

Fire Battalion Chief Matt Duaime said the cause of the fire may have been smoking. Upon arrival at the two-alarm blaze, firefighters had to contend with a thick blanket of smoke just 1 foot off the floor and a complicated floor plan.

When they discovered Larson, she was in full arrest but had a pulse when she was taken to a hospital. She could not be revived.

Due to the circular floor plan of the 1,800-square-foot home, firefighters extinguished flames on their left as new flames came up behind them, cutting them off from their exit. "That was an issue for us. The weak roof also posed a collapse potential for us. We are always looking at risk-benefit analysis," Duaime said, noting it took about 30 minutes just to get the flames under control due to the ususual spread of the fire.

Larson's two dogs died in the fire. But her calico cat, Talulah, survived and was rescued Monday by Larson's caregiver, who said she would keep the cat following Larson's previous instructions. "She said if anything ever happened to her, she wanted me to take care of her pets," said the caregiver, Sabrina, who declined to provide her last name.

"She was loved, and she will be missed," Sabrina said.

Duaime indicated that about 50 percent of the home was significantly damaged and estimated repairs at about $150,000.

Contact reporter Joe Goldeen at (209) 546-8278 or [email protected]. Follow his blog at www.recordnet.com/goldeenblog and on Twitter @JoeGoldeen.

Copyright 2013 - The Record, Stockton, Calif.

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