Patterson Irrigator

December 2, 2008 Patterson, CA

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Fire damages Patterson homes

Written by Jonathan Partridge / Patterson Irrigator

Wednesday, 11 June 2008

A fire damaged two homes in the Patterson Gardens development today, ruining the sidewalls and destroying a fence between the two homes.

Patterson Fire Department received a call at 1:50 p.m. after 13-year-old neighbor Joey Lopes walked by and noticed the fire near a house on the 1500 block of Horizon Lane.

Lopes called 9-1-1 and knocked on the door of one of the houses that caught fire.

“It was crazy,” Joey Lopes said.

Alex MacDonald, who was at home when Joey knocked on the door, said all but one person in the house was asleep when Joey arrived, and they all evacuated.

“I opened the door to the garage, and there was too much fire in there,” MacDonald said.

He said he fire department arrived within five minutes of the initial call.

“It seemed they did a good job,” MacDonald said. “They got it out really quick.”

Patterson firefighters help extinguish flames that damaged two homes today on the 1500 block of Horizon Lane. Photo by Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator

The fire consumed most of the fence between the homes at 1536 and 1540 Horizon Lane, leaving behind only a few blackened posts. It also darkened the walls and damaged windows of each home on either side of the fence. Portions of the honeycomb-like chicken wire within the walls lay exposed after the fire was extinguished. Some of the holes were made when firefighters chipped away at the walls to put out the fire.

Joey said it appeared that the flames started at 1540 Horizon Lane, which has been vacant for a long time, though Patterson Fire Chief Bill Kinnear said it was too early to say exactly what caused the incident.

David Branum, senior building inspector for the city of Patterson, said his girlfriend was at home on Horizon Lane two houses away from the incident when she heard a loud explosion and saw black smoke that smelled like rubber.

“She said it scared her to death,” Branum said.

Joey happened to be heading to a neighbor’s house to look after their dogs when he noticed the smoke. He called his mother, Laurie Lopes, who directed her son to call 9-1-1.

“I’m really proud of him,” Laurie Lopes said. “I think he acted quick on his feet. He really acted with a level head.”

Firefighters also kept busy with several other emergencies this afternoon. Those included a grass fire at Interstate 5 and Howard Road reported at 3:16 p.m. and another grass fire south of Sperry Avenue off Rogers Road at 3:49 p.m. The latter fire initially was reported as a potential structure fire, but the closest structures were the service stations on Rogers Road on the other side of the street.

To reach Jonathan Partridge at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at
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