- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Woman and dogs die in Tuesday night house fire
NICE, Calif. – A woman and her two dogs died Tuesday night in an accidental house fire, with Northshore Fire’s chief reporting that those deaths could have been prevented had there been a smoke alarm in the home.
The fire in the singlewide trailer home at 3387 E. Highway 20 at Sayre Avenue in Nice was first dispatched shortly after 8:20 p.m. Tuesday, according to radio reports.
Callers reported seeing flames and advised that someone was inside the trailer, according to dispatch.
Northshore Fire units arrived within minutes of dispatch, according to reports from the scene.
Fire Chief Jay Beristianos said that when units arrived flames were coming out of one window, but the mobile home wasn’t fully involved.
“It was really a very quick fire to knock down,” he said, with firefighters doing a fast job of controlling the blaze.
But it was too late for the woman who lived in the home along with her two dogs, all of whom were found dead a short time later. Beristianos believed that it may have already been too late by the time firefighters got the call.
The main damage from the fire was confined to the kitchen and living room, Beristianos said.
He said the woman’s body was found in the living room, along with one of her dogs. The second dog was found dead in a back bedroom.
“It was a needless death because if she had a working smoke detector in there, I don’t think she would have died,” said Beristianos.
The woman’s name has so far not been released by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
“At this point we are waiting on positive identification and that might not happen until next week,” said Lt. Corey Paulich.
Beristianos said the nature of the fire was accidental.
He said firefighters found that combustible materials had been stored too close to an electric heater in the kitchen. They were able to track the pattern of the fire back to the heater.
Beristianos said firefighters were on scene for a few hours after the fire was contained for mop up and overhaul.
Such cases are always bad, “but it just makes it worse at Christmas,” he said.
Beristianos said he found the case both tragic and frustrating, because his agency makes smoke detectors available for free to anyone who needs them through a Red Cross program. They also will install the devices for free.
Anyone in the Northshore Fire Protection District who needs a smoke detector is urged to call the Lucerne district headquarters at 707-274-3100 to request one.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.