Woman badly burned in fire outside Brenden Theatres in downtown Modesto early Sunday
A homeless woman suffered second- and third-degree burns early Sunday in downtown Modesto when her warming fire quickly grew out of control, police reported.
About 1:30 a.m., an officer was flagged down by someone who saw the fire near the Brenden Theatres emergency doors along Ninth Street near J Street, Lt. Steve Stanfield said.
Another person came to the officer’s aid, and together they pulled the woman to safety, the lieutenant said. Just about the same time, the fire exploded a propane tank she’d had where she was camping.
The woman suffered second- and third-degree burns to her face, was taken to a hospital for treatment and is expected to survive, Stanfield said.
The circumstances of the fire were not immediately known, he said, but given that she hadn’t moved away as the fire grew and that the burns were to her face, she likely had been asleep.
There was no damage to the building, Stanfield said.
This story was originally published October 10, 2021 at 8:46 AM.
