Fire Hits Two Calif. Homes Displacing 17 Occupants

Feb. 08--WATSONVILLE -- At least 17 people were displaced by a fire that hit two houses in a dense downtown Watsonville neighborhood during the dinner hour Tuesday.

Abraham Moreno, who lives in one of the houses with his wife and three children, said they were eating dinner when he saw the flames.

"I opened the window and there was a fire," Moreno said. "It was scary, you know."

Moreno grabbed his baby and children, ages 6 and 9, along with his wife and fled the house to safety.

Outside he found the back of his house at 140 Grant St. and the house next door, 142 Grant, were ablaze.

Fire Marshal Rob Ryan said the fire appears to have been sparked by an extension cord running from the house to a light fixture in

the shed in the backyard of 142 Grant St. Ryan said the extension cord was being used rather than hiring an electrician to wire the shed. He urged residents not to use extension cords as a permanent source of power.

The flames jumped from the shed to the back porch of the house and across the 8-foot driveway to the back of Moreno's house.

Inside the one-story, two-bedroom house at 142 Grant St. were a dozen people, including seven adults and five children, all who call the small house home.

Red Cross personnel were on hand and will provide housing for the families for the night.

Matt Sanchez, the first firefighter on scene, said, "We saw everyone out on the street and both buildings were on fire."

While firefighters were able to knock down the flames within about five minutes, Sanchez said, "It had the potential to be a lot bigger than it was."

The houses, all within close proximity of each other, are in an older residential neighborhood and about a block from the police department and the high school.

Fire Chief Mark Bisbee said both two-bedroom houses sustained at least $50,000 damage each, but they were able to save about $90,000 of value in each house. Both structures, which

Firefighters mop up a fire that damaged two houses on the 100 block of Grant Street Tuesday. (Stephen Baxter/Sentinel)

are 1,000 square feet, suffered significant smoke and water damage.

Juan Gutierrez, who owns both houses, as well as three others on the street, said "It looks bad, but it could have been worse."

Gutierrez said he was thankful that everyone was OK.

Of the houses, he said "We have to fix them."

Bisbee said it's not unusual in Watsonville to have a significant number of people living in a small space and he was unsure if it violated occupancy codes. The fire chief said it's possible the detached shed had code violations, which city personnel will assess.

Neither structure is suitable for habitation.

Firefighters from Watsonville, Aptos-La Selva and Cal Fire responded to the scene. Some remained for hours mopping up, under the watchful eye of dozens of neighbors.

Watsonville police issued a Nixle alert evacuating residences in the area, which is just a block from the police station. Police urged residents to avoid the Grant and Union street areas for several hours after the fire.

Gutierrez said he was alerted to the fire by his mother, who was called by a friend, who received the Nixle alert. To sign up for Nixle alerts, visit www.watsonvillepd.com

To help residents affected by home fires and other local emergencies, call 831-462-2881 or visit www.sccredcross.org

Follow Sentinel reporter Stephen Baxter on Twitter @sbaxter_sc