Woman dies in downtown Santa Rosa house fire
Published: Sunday, October 31, 2010 at 11:42 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, October 31, 2010 at 6:06 p.m.
A fire that blazed in the early morning hours Sunday in downtown Santa Rosa took the life of a woman, the Fire Department said.
The victim's identity was not released. But neighbors, who said they met the woman a few times, said her name was Doris, estimated her age at about 60 years old and said she lived alone in the small garage-turned-apartment that caught fire on Tenth Street.
“She always seemed like she was doing something,” said Kyle Hoff, 22, who lives in the main residence on the property. “We always thought maybe we would have coffee together, but wow.”
Hoff described the victim as spunky, and said she dressed in bright clothes and occasionally held a pink parasol while walking in the sun.
The fire was reported at 3:04 a.m. on Sunday. Crews from the Santa Rosa Fire Department arrived minutes later and found smoke coming from the one-story residence located to the rear of 315 10th Street, fire officials said.
The small, light-blue garage that neighbors said had been converted into a rental unit had boarded up windows on Sunday afternoon, and a muddy footprint on a white door that someone may have tried to kick in.
Officials said the crew encountered a fire in the home's kitchen area and then found the victim in the main living area of the residence.
She was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
Neighbors said they did not hear a smoke alarm, but awoke when they heard shouting around 3 a.m.
Several ran outside and used garden hoses on the burning structure, said Denise Hill, a neighbor, who works in the Press Democrat advertising department.
“It's just a really sad situation,” said Hill, whose home is just feet away from the building that burned.
“It's so tiny, and it's amazing the way it was engulfed,” Hill said of the structure.
Fire Department Battalion Chief Michael Jones said the fire appeared to be caused by combustible materials that were left too close to a water heater.
“A lot of people, if you go into their garages, they have stuff stacked up by the water heater, and it's not a good practice,” Jones said. “It's just a matter of time before the combustibles have the potential to ignite.”
Outside the back of the woman's home, small paint cans, a green ceramic dish and a cream-colored faux-fur rug blackened by the fire were strewn in a pile of charred debris.
A satellite dish was strapped unharmed onto the building's charred roof.
Officials said the fire caused $15,000 worth of damage to the structure and $5,000 of damage to its contents.
It was pretty sad that we could lose a person in such a small structure,” Jones said.
The report on the cause of the fire was still being finalized, Jones said.
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