2007 brings two fires
Every on-duty firefighter in San Benito County arrived at a
burning home Jan 2, in the second fire of the year in the city.
Smoke and flames billowed up from the home. Wind blew ashes
blocks from the home and landed on cars in downtown Hollister.
2007 brings two fires
Every on-duty firefighter in San Benito County arrived at a burning home Jan 2, in the second fire of the year in the city.
Smoke and flames billowed up from the home. Wind blew ashes blocks from the home and landed on cars in downtown Hollister.
The Hollister Fire Department received the call from dispatch to head to 360 Hill St. They were on scene by 9:46 a.m., said Capt. Jeff Granucci.
“There were flames 75 feet in the air and smoke up a couple hundred of feet,” Granucci said.
Homeowner Richard Puccinelli, who lived in the home with his son, watched as the fire blazed and destroyed all the family’s possessions.
There were 22 firefighters on scene, said Hollister Fire Chief Bill Garringer.
Firefighter Chris Cunningham, paid call firefighter Rudy Sanchez and Capt. Tim Schneider were all near a doorway when the second story collapsed into the first floor of the home. Schneider was no more than 10 feet away from the collapse, he said.
The collapse was eclipsed by black smoke escaping from the building.
“Everything got smoky fast,” Schneider said. “There were flames everywhere, so we couldn’t see. We were engulfed in flames.”
Schneider ordered Cunningham and Sanchez out of the building. All the firefighters got out safely.
About 70,000 gallons of water were used to put out the fire, Garringer said.
After the fire was out, firefighters entered the home to “perform mop-up, and salvage, and to make sure no traces of fire were in hidden places such as walls or floors,” Schneider said.
“There was no area of that structure that was not touched by smoke or fire,” Schneider said.
The firefighters were unable to find undamaged items even in drawers that had been shut during the fire, Schneider said.
“Everything found was damaged by smoke, blackened or soaking wet,” Schneider said.
The cause of the fire was not determined.
“We don’t have a full-time fire cause investigation position in the department,” Garringer said. “So we did on scene[investigation] to the best of our ability. Because of the collapse it wasn’t safe to continue [an investigation.]”
The first fire of the year happened earlier Jan. 2 on Fairview Road at the scene of a double-wide trailer.
Danielle Stolman can be reached at [email protected].
