A Sonoma firefighter received second-degree burns while fighting a fire that consumed an El Verano home Thursday afternoon. After being hit on the forehead by falling debris, he drove himself to the hospital, where he was treated and released, according to a Sonoma Valley FireMed spokesman.
At 3:39 p.m. yesterday, firefighters responded to a call reporting flames inside a single-story residence at 19017 Willow Street in El Verano. Three engines and a battalion chief were dispatched to the scene, where neighbors had tried to douse the fire with garden hoses before help arrived.
Arriving on the scene four minutes after the 911 call, firefighters found the house fully involved, to the extent that they struck a second alarm. Within moments, an additional three vehicles arrived, accompanied by a duty officer to manage the scene.
Firefighters from Glen Ellen, the California Department of Forestry and Schell Vista assisted in getting the fire under control by 4:20 p.m. None of the five residents was injured; the Red Cross is assisting the family, which lost its home. Damage was estimated at over $100,000. The cause of the blaze is being investigated.
