FRESNO, Calif. (KMJ/KFSN) — “I saw all the smoke and I saw all the movement in the front with the firefighters. I thought it was my house.”
Noe Montejano is describing the moment he noticed firefighters on his security camera tearing through his backyard to put out a fast-spreading fire that his neighbor couldn’t escape.
Officials say they were called to a west central Fresno neighborhood near Clinton and Cornelia avenues around noon on Sunday.
When fire crews arrived, neighbors told them a man was in a trailer that was on fire.
First responders’ plans quickly changed.
“We went and did our best to search and get water on that structure, and the crews did, but with the amount of fire that was involved with it and the location inside and being a trailer, it was very difficult,” says Tim Fulmer with Fresno City Fire.
The area where the fire is suspected of starting is filled with old tires and vehicles — a threat to crews battling the flames.
Montejano lives behind the property where the fire allegedly broke out. He says this isn’t the first time something like this happened.
Video shows a fire just feet away from his home last June. Montejano says the fire started in an open space and quickly spread to his neighbor’s house next door.
Since then, he says he’s not taking any more risks
“We always have to be ready,” he said. “After that, we’re prepared. We have some fire extinguishers inside the house. We’re prepared for anything. You just never know.”
Officials say police, along with fire investigators and the Fresno County coroner, are all working together to determine a cause as this fire is still under investigation.
