EL CAJON, Calif. — Three people are dead, and one more is injured after a fire ripped through a home in El Cajon on North Anza Street. Firefighters from multiple agencies responded to the fire just before midnight on Thursday.
The Battalion Chief on scene told CBS 8 that the Sheriff’s Department would be handling the death investigation and that the Bomb Arson squad was also called to the scene to investigate.
While putting out the flames, firefighters found a deceased person inside the home. The Medical Examiner's Office is expected to identify the three victims and determine the cause and manner of death once their families have been notified.
During a briefing with the media, the Battalion Chief said, “Fire has been knocked down. We're waiting for Sheriff Bomb Arson to investigate due to the loss and the structure. When they give us the all-clear, we'll finish it extinguishing it. Units from San Miguel Santee, Lakeside, and El Cajon, as well as an AMR ambulance and an AMR supervisor, are on scene now.”
Reagan Seymour lives in the area. Reagan shared, "They were really sweet: Marilyn, Herman, and Ian. They always came over every holiday and birthday. They never forgot one. The second we moved in, they were like family. I’m going to miss seeing them. We saw them every day. We would help them with their groceries. They would always check in on us like we were like family over the past five years. They owned our homes as well. I don't know what this means for us. Or their family because they just lost three people."
Neighbors gathered outside of the home, surveying the damage and sharing memories of the family. Reagan’s mom says the victims were kind and loved everyone they could. "These two people took their grandson in because his parents couldn't care for him. They took care of each other, and they took care of the renters."
Reagan describes the night of the fire: "I was hysterical on the phone with 9-1-1 because I knew they were inside the house. And with how big the flames were, I knew there was no way they could get out. It was something like out of a nightmare. The flames were way past the trees, past the pole the flames were. You couldn't even see the sky. I thought the living room light was on, but the flames were so big they lit up everything.
Reagan’s mom and other neighbors describe hearing explosions after the fire started. "When we started coming out, the whole thing just went boom! It had been maybe 10 minutes, and there was another loud explosion."
San Diego Fire Department Battalion Chief Rich Durrell tells CBS 8 fire crews were only 3 minutes away, but by the time they arrived, more than half of the home was already burning. Durrell also said firefighters were on the scene before learning that victims were inside. "One of the firefighters, while he was pulling the line, looked in a window and found a person on the floor, so they went into rescue mode and started pulling the people out," Durrell said. That’s when they called in extra help. Firefighters pulled two people from the structure and immediately placed them in ambulances for transport to a hospital. Unfortunately, both were pronounced deceased shortly after arriving at the hospital. A third person suffered smoke inhalation and was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Sheriff's Bomb/Arson Detectives responded to the scene to determine the origin and cause of the fire. The investigation is ongoing. The Sheriff's Bomb/Arson Unit is a regional resource investigating fires involving suspicious circumstances, serious injuries, and death.
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