Hollister
– The Hollister Fire Department has handed the investigation
into the Jan. 4 Vista Park Hill home fire over to the owner’s
insurance company.
Hollister – The Hollister Fire Department has handed the investigation into the Jan. 4 Vista Park Hill home fire over to the owner’s insurance company.
Hollister Fire Chief Bill Garringer said the cause of the Hill Street blaze has yet to be officially determined. Garringer does not suspect arson and believes the fire was started by the home’s outdated electrical wiring system.
“I think it’s going to be an accidental fire,” Garringer said. “It may just be that house being over 100 years old.”
Former owner Julie Trebler said the house had originally been a barn dating to the 1800s. The wiring of the home was knob-and-tube wiring, Garringer said.
Knob-and-tube wiring is found in some homes built more than 50 years ago. The system derives its name from the insulation and ceramic tubing used to house the electrical system.
Garringer said modern electrical wiring has a ground – a steel or copper rod – driven into the ground to redirect electrical shorts from appliances without causing damage to the structure. Knob-and-tube wiring has no grounding, which makes it more prone to starting fires, Garringer said.
“I’ve seen a lot of fires started by that old knob-and-tube wiring,” Garringer said. “So that would be a prime suspect.”
The house was owned by Richard Puccinelli and was estimated to be worth $600,000. Garringer said Puccinelli’s insurance company sent an outside investigator, John Ford, to determine the cause and origin of the fire. But due to the collapse of the second floor into the first, the investigator may be unable to find the exact origin, he said.
“He said it was unsafe for him to dig down to the (origin) of the fire,” Garringer said.
Ford declined to comment Tuesday on his investigation into the blaze.
The fire began at 9:40am Jan. 4 and took 22 firefighters from the City of Hollister and San Benito County approximately 50 minutes to contain. Firefighters used three engines and one ladder truck to relay water hundreds of feet from a hydrant on San Benito Street up Hill Street. The fire was completely under control within two hours, Garringer said. The house was unoccupied at the time of the fire, but Hollister Fire Capt. Tim Schneider suffered minor burns to his left ear and neck when the second story collapsed into the first, Garringer said.
Puccinelli could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or [email protected].
