A woman has reportedly died from her injuries following an early morning house fire that brought intense moments and a lengthy operation for firefighters in a Folsom neighborhood early Friday morning.
The original call dispatched firefighters from the agencies of Folsom, Sacramento Metropolitan and El Dorado Hills El Dorado Hills at 2:07 a.m. to the 100 block of Briarcliff Drive, located in a well-populated neighborhood in Folsom’s central district. Upon arrival, firefighters discovered an active fire and quickly entered the home to search for occupants.
During their initial search, firefighters located a woman inside and brought her out of the structure, where she was administered medical attention by Folsom medics on the scene. The victim was then transported to a nearby hospital in Code 3 status, the highest level of emergency transport for life-threatening conditions. Firefighters reentered the home to continue searching for additional occupants, before determining that the woman was the sole occupant at the time.
The inside of the home was charged with smoke from ceiling to floor. Firefighters immediately began an aggressive fire attack and a search for occupants,” said Folsom Fire Battalion Chief Ben Signor. ” While searching the structure, firefighters found and removed one victim from the residence.”
After being transported to the hospital, the woman died from her injuries. During their search, firefighters also found a pet cat that had succumbed to the smoke in a bedroom of the home, according to radio traffic at the scene. During the incident, a firefighter was injured as well and taken to the hospital as precaution with a reported minor knee injury.
It took firefighters less than 10 minutes to squelch the active flames in the morning blaze, which drew worried neighbors out of their homes despite the early hour. Although the active fire was extinguished, the incident required several hours of work to completely extinguish the interior of the home and perform property recovery, followed by securing the property with a board-up.
After about an hour and a half, incident command at the scene released the assisting mutual aid units from the neighboring departments. However, Folsom units remained at the location much longer, with a limited number of firefighters and units still present at daybreak. Throughout the incident, 17 different units responded to the incident, which included four engines from Folsom, two from El Dorado Hills. A total of two medic units responded to the scene along with two Battalion Chief units and air rehabilitation unit.
At this time, the cause of the fire is under investigation. “The source of the fire appears to have originated in the living room. The investigation is ongoing,” Signor shared. The victim’s name is not being released pending investigation and notification of family, a neighbor at the scene told Folsom Times staff the woman was in her 70’s.
In a post-incident media release later in the morning, the department issued a reminder to residents to make sure that every bedroom of their homes have working smoke detectors.
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Photos: City of Folsom Fire Department
