Woman suffers burns at fire in empty Modesto storage container

A woman believed to be living in an empty storage container in east Modesto suffered burns to the lower part of her body after a fire broke out there on Monday night.

Firefighters were called to the large lot on the northwest corner of Yosemite Boulevard and North Riverside Drive at about 9 p.m., on a report of smoke possibly coming from empty storage containers. At least one caller said they believed a woman was living inside one of the containers.

When firefighters arrived, they found the woman, believed to be in her late 40s, sitting on the ground outside of one of the containers that was on fire.

It took firefighters about 10 minutes to contain the blaze, which damaged at least two of the containers. It took firefighters a few minutes to get through the locks and fencing.

Battalion Chief Randy Anderson of the Modesto Fire Department said the woman suffered second- and possibly third-degree burns to about 20 percent of her body. She was taken to a nearby hospital and was likely to be headed to the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento for treatment.

On the property on Yosemite, several rows of the empty containers behind a fence sit double-stacked in the northwest corner of the lot that also contains a Stop N Save and a building that once housed a Wonder/Hostess Bakery Outlet.

“It’s a storage place for storage containers,” Anderson said describing the fenced-off area.

Anderson did not know the cause of the fire but surmised it might have been started by someone lighting a fire to stay warm or seeking light.

He said there are signs – mattresses and other evidence – that several transients live either in or between the containers. Nobody else was found at the scene on Monday night.

Damage to the containers was estimated to be about $1,000.

This story was originally published February 22, 2016 at 11:26 PM with the headline "Woman suffers burns at fire in empty Modesto storage container."