Santa Rosa woman badly burned after dropped candle ignites Christmas tree

An apartment fire that left a west Santa Rosa woman with significant burns over a large portion of her body began when she accidentally dropped a hot candle onto a dry Christmas tree and set it ablaze, a fire investigator said Monday.

The burning tree was located near the exit, and the female resident caught fire in her effort to escape, Santa Rosa Fire inspector Marita Petersen said.

She was reported to have second-degree burns, Santa Rosa Fire Battalion Chief Jason Jenkins said.

Her 21-year-old son, who was asleep when the 8:30 p.m. fire started Saturday off Jennings Avenue, managed to climb out of a rear window, Santa Rosa Fire Battalion Chief Matt Gloeckner said. He ran around to the front of the two-story building, where he found his mother still burning, fire officials said.

“He took off his shirt that he was wearing and then put the flames out with his shirt,” Petersen said. “I couldn’t imagine what she was going through. It must have been just horrific.”

The blaze drew a huge response to the Walnut Creek Apartments, located west of Marlow Road near Biella Elementary School, but fortunately spread little beyond the ground-floor unit where it started and a single neighboring apartment - though the threat was substantial.

“Christmas trees this time of year are so dry, it just doesn’t take much,” Petersen said. “If you’ve ever seen some of the videos, they go up so quick and with such intensity.”

The fire started in a 10-unit building in a neighborhood densely built with multifamily dwellings. It spread up the side of the exterior wall and threatened two upper apartments, though it didn’t get inside, fire officials said.

Four apartments were rendered uninhabitable because of smoke and fire damage estimated at $350,000, Gloeckner said.

An army of 35 Santa Rosa and Sonoma County Fire District personnel and equipment that included six fire engines and two ladder trucks ensured it didn’t get any worse, however.

Fire officials said the lower apartment belonging to the woman and her son was a total loss.

The two upper units in the building sustained only smoke damage inside, in addition to exterior fire damage.

Residents of six other apartments in the building, though evacuated, were later allowed to return home, Gloeckner said.

The burned woman was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment and later was transferred to a burn unit.

Her name was not disclosed.

Her son was taken in by an older brother in the area, Petersen said.

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 707-521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.