MERCED CITY APARTMENT FIRE DISPLACES NEARLY 12 PEOPLE IN CALIFORNIA. FIRE HAS BEEN RULED SUSPICIOUS

MERCED CITY APARTMENT FIRE DISPLACES NEARLY 12  PEOPLE IN CALIFORNIA.  FIRE HAS BEEN RULED SUSPICIOUS

 

Merced City Fire and Cal Fire Merced County crews work to secure the scene of an early morning structure fire in the 300 block of T Street in Merced, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015. According to Merced City Fire Department Battalion Chief Billy Alcorn, the fire, which has been ruled suspicious, started in a vacant unit of an 11 unit Merced Golden Manor apartment complex near the intersection of T Street and West 3rd Street. No injuries were reported and the American Red Cross was present on scene to assist with shelter and care of displaced residents. 

  
January 21, 2015 

MERCED, California— A fire burned through nearly a dozens units of an apartment complex early Wednesday in Merced, displacing approximately 11 elderly and disabled residents.
Flames broke out around 4 a.m. at the Merced Golden Manor apartment complex in the 300 block of T Street, Battalion Chief Billy Alcorn said. The complex is located a few blocks east of the Merced Regional Airport.

Firefighters put early damage estimates at around $387,000.

Investigators have not determined what caused the fire, but say it’s suspicious and appears to have started in a recently vacated unit.

No one was injured, in large part firefighters said, to at least two unidentified people who were passing by the fire and alerted residents inside. Alcorn said those people and the fact the units had working smoke detectors prevented any injuries in the blaze.

Aberta Johnson, 69, was one of the residents who awoke to sounds of yelling and someone pounding on her door. “Someone was shouting ‘get out’ and it was so smokey,” Johnson told the Sun-Star. “I opened my front door and the smoke just got worse.”

A total of 23 firefighters responded to the blaze; 18 firefighters from the city and four responded to help from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Merced County.

Connie Happs lives in a unit about 100 yards from where the fire occurred and was afraid her son, Isreal, who lives just two units away from the blaze, may have been hurt. She said she was relieved when she saw him a short time later.

“I was in bed and there was this big explosion, sounded like an explosion to me — it sounded like a bomb, that’s what it sounded like to me and there were flames just bursting everywhere,” Happs said. “He (my son) lives right there; I was scared to death.”

Isreal Happs, 39, was already awake and cooking breakfast when the fire started. He lost almost everything he owns, but said he’s grateful nobody was injured.

The American Red Cross Central Valley is helping displaced residents with food, clothing and shelter, spokeswoman Sherry Pitchford said.

This is a developing story. More information will be reported as it becomes available.