Valley Home man dies after being pulled from burning home
A 60-year-old man died early Monday morning after being pulled from a burning building in Valley Home.
The broke out around 3:40 a.m. in a detached garage that had been converted into an apartment on a property at Valley Home and Schultz roads around 3:40 a.m, said Dustin Bruley, supervisor of the Stanislaus Regional Fire Investigation Unit.
The fire started inside the man’s room and was contained there.
Bruley said residents who lived in other structures on the property noticed the fire, went around the corner to Modesto Fire Station 30, rang the bell and alerted firefighters. Neighbors also called 911. Valley Home contracts with the Modesto Fire Department for services.
Firefighters arrived at the scene to find smoke and flames showing from the apartment.
Crews began fighting the blaze from the exterior and then went inside, where they found the man in his room.
He was taken to a local hospital but succumbed to his injuries.
Alexander Stevens, who lives in the main house with his dad, said they’ve known the man, who they met through a family friend who also lives on the property, for almost a year.
Stevens identified the man but The Bee is withholding his name until the Stanislaus County Coroner’s Office confirms his family has been notified.
“He was ... very talkative, like good two hour conversations out of nothing, easy to talk to, always had good stories,” Stevens said.
He said the man talked adoringly about his young grandson, as well as the homes he built as a contractor and the bones he broke roping in the Oakdale Rodeo.
“He was just a really cool dude, he was always happy, always had a really good outlook on life,” Stevens said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
This story was originally published August 31, 2020 at 11:19 AM.
