Fire damages abandoned Santa Rosa home

Santa Rosa firefighters on Saturday extinguished a blaze that damaged an abandoned home off Sebastopol Road.

The fire was reported just before noon. When firefighters arrived, they found heavy smoke and flames coming from the house, located near the South Wright Road intersection, Battalion Chief Mark Basque said in a statement. He said the single-story home is owned by the Victory Outreach Church of Santa Rosa, but it appeared to be abandoned. Windows and doors had been boarded up.

Firefighters had to force their way into the house. They were able to contain the blaze to a third of the living room and attic space, Basque said.

Although the house was abandoned, fire officials said there were signs that trespassers had either been living or spending time in the house.

“There were mattresses and belongings, all kinds of stuff in there. It definitely looked like someone had been living there,” Santa Rosa fire investigator Toby Rey said.

The fire appeared to have started in a bathroom on the southeast corner of the home, he said. However, he said the cause is undetermined.

“I can rule out electrical. The electricity was turned off in that building,” Rey said. “And no gas was detected.”

Damage was estimated at $25,000.