May 12--An unfortunate combination of high winds, a rural location and bad timing left firefighters with little water to combat a blaze at a home west of Modesto.
The fire was reported in the 7300 block of Edsel Lane, off Hart Road, at 1:37 p.m. Thursday, Modesto Regional Fire Battalion Chief Hugo Patino said.
Because the closest engines were responding to other calls at the time, including another house fire, the first responders to arrive were stationed at Briggsmore and McHenry avenues in central Modesto. They arrived at 1:51 p.m.
"That's a long time for a fire to burn," Patino said. The fire spread from the garage of the modular home to the main part of the residence.
With only a single tanker, firefighters couldn't aggressively fight the blaze.
A tanker carries 500 gallons of water. "You can dump that in about two or three minutes," Patino said.
"Hydrants are far and few between in the area," he said, a problem further exacerbated by a power line downed in the street.
A woman and her college-age daughter rented the home, homeowner Terry Cole said. The woman's son also might have been living there. Cole, who lives next door, said his house burned down in a similar fashion four years ago.
"I hate to have it happen to me twice in four years," he said. "The poor people who lived there lost everything they owned."
Nobody was injured, and authorities had not determined its cause as of Friday afternoon.
A damage estimate had not been completed. Cole said the building was roughly 10 years old and cost about $65,000 when he bought it.
Patino said the lack of resources available was regrettable.
"Unfortunately, that's what happens in the rural area," he said. "And yesterday we were pretty busy with the other fire we had. ... Things were fairly hectic during that time of the day."
It's not clear if having better access to water would have changed the outcome; Patino said the fire grew quickly before firefighters arrived.
"Time is not our friend when we have an emergency."
Bee staff writer Patty Guerra can be reached at [email protected] or (209) 578-2343.
Copyright 2012 - The Modesto Bee, Calif.
