Close Call For Man Rescued From Fire Monday

By Bay City News

Paper and other flammable items kept too close to a fireplace in a Walnut Creek home on Monday fueled a fire that ended in one man's narrow rescue, a fire captain said.

Neighbors reported seeing smoke coming from the back of the home in the 1900 block of First Avenue just after 1 p.m., fire officials said.

"He was very lucky that his neighbors saw what was happening, because it would have been a much different outcome if they hadn't," Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Capt. Robert Marshall said.

Crews arrived on the scene to find that a fire had started in the home's living room and spread to the attic.

Firefighters searched the house and found a resident in the living room who had been overtaken by the smoke and fallen unconscious, fire Capt. Robert Marshall said.

Crews pulled the man from the burning house and brought him out to the front lawn, where he regained consciousness.

He was taken to a hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and burns to his torso and head area, Marshall said. While the injuries are not considered to be life-threatening, it will likely be a difficult road to recovery, the fire captain said.

Three pet macaws inside the home perished in the blaze, while two dogs made it out safely, he said.

Marshall said crews were able to control the fire in about 25 minutes, but not before it caused about $150,000 in damage to the house.

The blaze was apparently caused by paper and other combustible items stored "really close" to the fireplace, which the man was using on Monday, the fire captain said.

"Anytime you're using any kind of a heating appliance, whether it be a fireplace or a space heater, you need to have three feet of clearance around that thing," Marshall said. "It only takes a little bit of energy to create a big problem."

The fire displaced both the man and his wife, who was not home at the time of the blaze.