A Jefferies Highway resident was awakened by smoke filling the residence at about 12:26 p.m. on Dec. 26. He found an adjacent bedroom on fire and was able to closed the door to the room, which helped contain the fire. The man then attempted to use a container to throw water on the fire, but was driven out of the home by the smoke. He ran next door to have the neighbor call 9-1-1. Initial reports indicated an adult female might be trapped in the home at 11154 Jefferies Highway. Firefighters arrived minutes later to find heavy smoke conditions on all sides of the single-story dwelling and flames coming from the bedroom windows at the rear of the structure. They deployed a hand line to the rear of the structure and knocked down the flames, while a second crew deployed second line through the front door and quickly searched the building, encountering flames in the hall, but extinguished the remaining fire in the hall, the bedroom and the attic above the bedroom. The adult female was found safe and was not in the residence at the time of the fire. The bedroom suffered substantial damage with the remainder of the home sustaining smoke and heat damage. Many personal items were saved. The woman said she remembered leaving a candle burning in the room when she left for work. The candle was the apparent cause of the fire. The male was evaluated by firefighter-paramedics for possible smoke inhalation at the scene, but did not require transportation to the hospital. The Red Cross is assisting the family. Units were on the scene for 1-1/2 hours.
