Firefighters Battle Blaze in Century-Old Victorian Home

REDLANDS>> Firefighters responded to a structure fire at a century-old Victorian home in the 1000 block of North 6th Street Sunday Nov. 6. No injuries were reported. Firefighters responded to the residential fire at about 7:30 p.m. that evening. When they arrived, they found active fire in the home’s basement. Fire suppression efforts were hampered by the age of the home, built more than 100 years ago before building codes were designed to prevent fire spread through the spaces in the walls, floors, basements and attics. The fire spread quickly, burning out the stairways to the second floor and into the attic. Access to the second floor was only available using ladders through the windows, and damage to the floors increased the hazards to firefighters. Firefighters conducted an aggressive attack for about 50 minutes before calling the fire under control. Neighbors reported there may be transients living in the house which was boarded up, so firefighters conducted a search of both floors of the building but there were no occupants located. Loma Linda Fire Department responded to assist with access to the roof to extinguish areas which could not be safely accessed by other means. Firefighters remained on scene conducting extensive overhaul until after 11 p.m. and the Redlands Police assisted with traffic control during the incident. There were no firefighter or civilian injuries and firefighters returned to the scene about 12:30 a.m. to extinguish additional material which was burning under the roofing material. The estimated damage to the home is $200,000 including major structural damage and the cause of the fire in under investigation. Anyone with information on the fire can contact the Redlands Fire Department Investigation Unit at (909) 798-7693.