Second adult victim identifed in deadly San Leandro house fire
Authorities in Alameda County have identified the second adult victim who lost their life in a fatal house fire in unincorporated San Leandro last Thursday.
According to the Alameda County Coroner's Bureau, the second victim was identified as 90-year-old Shirley Demerse. The first victim, 66-year-old Pamela Morrow, was identified over the weekend.
The Alameda County Fire Department said the fire broke out shortly before 5:30 a.m. Thursday morning on the 2000 block of Altamont Road in the Hillcrest Knolls neighborhood of unincorporated San Leandro just north of Interstate Highway 580.
Fire Department spokesperson Cheryl Hurd on Thursday confirmed there were nine people in the home at the time of the fire. Six of the victims were taken to an area hospital, where two of those victims died. A third victim was in critical condition at last report.
Thursday evening, fire officials confirmed that a third victim was found inside the burned structure. While fire officials did not provide additional details regarding the third victim, they had previously reported that a child was unaccounted for at scene of the fire.
Several neighbors who spoke with CBS News Bay Area on Thursday said they heard two loud booms around the same time the fire reportedly started.
"Just heard the bangs in the middle of the night," said Lamin Mansaray, who lives in the area. "The first one was louder than the second one and it just happened one after the other."
Fire officials said they didn't know if the fire caused the explosions or the explosions ignited the fire. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
