Calif. County Sees Spike in Residential Fires

April 10--Another in a skyrocking number of structure fires in San Bernardino County claimed the life of a woman in one of three blazes reported late Sunday and early Monday.

The three fires in the county continued a trend that has seen about a 60 percent rise in such blazes in the first quarter of this year.

San Bernardino County had 211 structure fires from Jan. 1 to March 31, compared to 130 for the same period last year, county fire spokeswoman Tracey Martinez said.

There is no obvious reason for the sharp uptick.

"This somewhat is not surprising due to the down economy and people's state of mind during hardships," Martinez said. "However, you can't blame it only on the state of the economy, it also has to do with being fire wise."

The rash of fires in the county has also been seen by firefighters throughout the United States.

The numbers of fires had been steady or slowly dropping over the years, , but 2012 has seen a startling number of deaths in civilian home fires.

About 720 people have died in residential fires in the first quarter of the year across the country, according gathered through news reports by the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA). Between Jan. 1 and Sunday, there were 46 fatalities in California.

There were 562 civilian fire fatalities between Jan. 1 and April 8 nationwide in 2011. There were 27 civilian fire fatalities reported in California.

"The fires that we're seeing in American homes are burning hotter and burning faster," said Tom Olshanski, a spokesman for the USFA.

"The toxic fumes that they're putting off are more so than ever."

The fires Sunday and Monday burned residences in Hesperia, Fontana and San Bernardino. Claremont, in Los Angeles County, also had a residential fire Sunday.

A 57-year-old Hesperia woman died early Monday following a blaze in the 16500 block of Bodart Street. San Bernardino County fire officials said the blaze was accidental and smoke detectors were triggered.

The woman's husband, one of two survivors of the blaze, had tried to rescue her, but couldn't find her.

"She had gone down the hallway trying to save her cat," Martinez said.

Firefighters responded at 1:53 a.m. and found the house engulfed in flames and the roof collapsing.

Firefighters tried to enter the home to rescue the woman, but couldn't due to the intensity of the blaze.

The woman's name has not released. Damage to the 2,000-square-foot home and a vehicle was estimated at $235,000.

In Fontana, residents called police at 10:54 p.m. Sunday after hearing explosions in the neighborhood.

Firefighters found a woman in the 9500 block

of Fontana Avenue suffering second- and third-degree burns to her upper body. She was taken to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton for treatment.

Martinez said the woman had been living in a two-car garage that had been converted into a living space.

Inside the garage was a camp stove that was connected to a hose, leading through a wall and out of the garage to a five-gallon propane tank outside.

"Investigators believe that when the female tried to light the camp stove, it exploded," Martinez said. Investigators say the explosion occurred because the hose had become loose.

San Bernardino firefighters battled a blaze in the 1600 block of Cabrera Avenue that displaced four people and injured an 80-year-old woman at 6:37 p.m. Sunday. The woman suffered minor injuries, but was not hospitalized.

In Claremont, a woman received minor burns when her house caught fire in the 100 block of Kirkwood Avenue at 12:20 p.m. Sunday.

A number of other deadly fires have occurred around San Bernardino County this year.

San Bernardino firefighters found the body of 58-year-old Debria Millsap inside a G Street apartment in January after they extinguished a fire. The woman was wheelchair bound.

A man died in a Fontana motor home fire in February. Firefighters found a Winnebago engulfed in flames in the 9800 block of Carob Avenue. They found the man's body after the fire was extinguished. The San Bernardino County Coroner's Department has not yet identified the man.

Reach Lori via email or call her at 909-483-9378.

Reach Melissa via email or call her at 909-386-3878.

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