Metro Fire Says Flammable Household Items May Have Fueled Carmichael Duplex Fire
CARMICHAEL (CBS13) — The flames roared Tuesday night, charring four units of two duplexes on Douvan Court in Carmichael.
Joanna Victery and her daughter Cerena live across the street from where the fire broke out.
"It's very scary," Cerena Victery said.
As the flames grew so did their fear.
"Grab my hose and turn it on," Joanna Victery said.
"And you saw by the way that it started how quickly it spread to the right to the left and then started moving on the building," Cerena Victery said. "It was getting the trees. Everything is packed so close together."
Sacramento Metro Fire said it took more than 50 firefighters to tackle this blaze — an unusually high amount to handle a duplex fire.
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Captain Chris Vestal said the fire may have been fueled by flammable household items.
"One of the theories with this fire is that it started in the interior of one of the units and then when it got outside, it got into other materials that carried the spread," Vestal said.
So what else may have carried the spread? Firefighters say the condition of the property may have added fuel to the fire.
"You have to make sure your home is well maintained. So that's things like vent screening is intact and in place," Vestal said. "Making sure any repairs to the exterior done so you don't have any kind of intrusions into the insulation."
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Joanna, who's lived here for a decade, echoes that concern.
"Very much so and it's kind of nerve-racking because they're totally wood without insulation," Joanna Victery said.
Joanna's daughter is just glad everyone made it out, considering it's a scene she's had burned into her memory after her home was turned to ash in a house fire last September.
"I know what waking up this morning is going to be like for them. It's very surreal. It's very humbling," Cerena Victery said. "You're going to wake up and wonder did that actually happen. It almost seems like the craziest, intense dream."
Metro Fire said there was a gas leak at the duplex fire but it's not believed to be a cause of it. The gas leak also caused a lot of work for firefighters because it can produce a lot of flames and the gas is free-flowing until it is shut off.
