Fire destroys Windsor home, displaces six

Yells for help and a blaring smoke detector awakened a northwest Windsor family early Tuesday after their home caught fire, trapping one of them in a room, a Sonoma County Fire official said.

The fire, reported about 5:55 a.m., apparently started in the bedroom of the 72-year-old homeowner, likely from an electrical issue, said Cyndi Foreman, district investigator and public information officer.

Family members told firefighters they’d heard banging and yells, followed by the smoke alarm. The homeowner was trapped in his room and called for help. A relative went to his aid, opening the door and getting hit by an intense blast of heat, Foreman said.

Both men got out of the house, but the homeowner suffered injuries to his face, hands and feet, and the relative who rescued him had singed hair.

The homeowner returned to the home for a fire extinguisher but was stopped before going in too far, Foreman said.

Three dozen firefighters responded from Sonoma County Fire, Healdsburg and Santa Rosa fire agencies to the Sunray Place home.

West Windsor station firefighters arrived first, finding flames already burning in about a third of the home and in the attic.

The flames were under control at 6:17 a.m. but the 1,500-square-foot house was gutted.

The Red Cross is providing temporary shelter for the family. The fire victim owned the home for several years, where he lived with four adult family members and a young granddaughter.

It didn’t appear anything inside could be salvaged, although items in the garage were saved, Foreman said. She estimated damage at $500,000.

An investigation traced the start to the bedroom and possibly an electrical outlet behind the bed, but the heavily damaged room made a final cause determination too difficult, she said.

The fire victim was taken to a hospital and expected to be transferred to an out-of-county hospital with a burn treatment facility.