Illegal fireworks suspected in two-story Modesto house fire

Illegal New Year’s fireworks may have sparked a roof fire that burned a two-story home and displaced a family of five early Thursday near Merle and Roselle avenues in east Modesto, the fire department said.

A couple living in the Cobblestone Manor gated community in the 2800 block of Sand Stone Street smelled smoke, went outside and found their wood-shake roof on fire at 12:51 a.m., a press release said. They got their three young children out of the house, called 911 and no one was hurt, the notice said.

The department sent 28 firefighters in several engines and firetrucks to battle the blaze, which was brought under control in about 30 minutes as a helicopter hovered overhead. Damage to the home and its contents is estimated at $250,000.

Modesto police Lt. Brandon Gillespie said police and fire investigators combed the neighborhood looking for evidence of bottle rockets reported by numerous neighbors, which could have been launched from a number of nearby streets. The fire department said the fire’s cause remains under investigation, but several neighbors said there is little doubt that illegal fireworks were to blame.

“I know so,” said Shelly Amador. “There were major fireworks coming from that area, the kind that explode in the air, the kind you shouldn’t have. It was like Little Vietnam for a second.”

Koren Cain said she was awakened by a smoke alarm sounding from the burning home across the street. The couple had moved vehicles from their garage and people were frantically removing some of the family’s belongings before flames became too intense, she said.

“The sky was lit up by the fire and the roof was totally engulfed with flames,” said Dave Vukovich, who lives a few streets away.

Cain, whose father was a fireman in Oakland a few decades ago, had parked her car in the driveway and it soon was “covered with flaming embers,” she said. Authorities evacuated a home next to the burning house. Then a spark flew to Cain’s roof and it burst into flame, but was quickly extinguished, she said.

“It was pretty exciting. I got to visit with the whole neighborhood,” she said, as people congregated to watch despite near-freezing temperatures.

Saul Magaña said he had “heard illegal fireworks going up in the air all night” and periodically checked his roof to make sure fiery bottle rockets had not landed there. “Unfortunately, it’s real easy to get illegal fireworks, and those wood-shake shingles are like dry brush,” he said.

Amador was relaxing at home a few blocks away when she heard firetruck sirens. “Being the nosy person I am, I ran out to see what was going on,” she said, and captured video of the fire with her cell phone. She posted footage on various social media sites soon after.

“The last thing I want is to lose everything I own because people want to blow stuff up in the sky,” she said.

This story was originally published January 1, 2015 at 10:35 AM with the headline "Illegal fireworks suspected in two-story Modesto house fire."