Occupant of Modesto home airlifted after fire

An occupant of a home just southeast of McHenry Avenue and Rumble Road was flown to the UC Davis Medical Center after a fire late Monday.

Modesto and Ceres crews responded to the report of a residential structure fire at 11:23 p.m., according to a Modesto Fire Department incident report. They found flames coming out of a window on the front of the single-story house.

The blaze quickly was contained to the single room and its contents, and then crews searched the residence. One occupant was taken to a local hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation and facial burns, then later flown to the Sacramento medical center, said Modesto Fire Department acting Battalion Chief Darin Jesberg.

Jesberg said he believes the occupant – a man estimated to be in his 40s – got out of the house on his own. A woman in her 30s, living in a tent in the back yard, was not injured, he said.

Crews stayed on scene for an additional hour to do mop-up. There was evidence in the house of squatting and hoarding, the incident report said. The hoarded combustible material amounted to a significant fire load, so a city public works crew was requested to board up the residence. “There is a lot of debris in the house, lots of unusual objects that wouldn’t normally be in a house, like trash cans,” Jesberg said.

The power meter was previously disconnected from the home, he said, and PG&E removed the gas meter after firefighting operations were over.

The Fire Department’s initial estimate of damage is $40,000. The cause remains under investigation, Jesberg said.

This story was originally published June 27, 2017 at 7:46 AM with the headline "Occupant of Modesto home airlifted after fire."