Report: Negligence Led to Deadly California Fire

The blaze at the home on Canevalley Circle killed three women in their 80s.

Dec. 14, 2006

2 min read

State inspectors said negligence at a Citrus Heights adult care home led to a fatal fire at the facility last month.

The blaze at the home on Canevalley Circle killed three women in their 80s.

In a 20-page report, the state said employees at the home allowed a resident with dementia to have access to matches and a lighter to smoke in her room.

The report also points out more than a dozen other violations, including exit signs and alarms that failed to work.

Records show the facility has a history of major violations, including more than 20 in 2005 alone.

The owners were written up repeatedly for failing to service fire extinguishers and ensuring that patients were taking the proper medication, and that the owners hired employees who were not certified or properly trained.

"(With) all these violations they should have been closed a long time ago and sanctioned, and the state should have been watching them very closely and they were not," said Carol Herman, an advocate for the elderly.

The state Department of Social Services said it now plans to revoke the owners' license to operate.