A devastating fire destroyed a Mayflower Avenue home Sunday morning and "hoarding conditions" inside the house appear to have contributed to the fire's intensity, a fire official said.
Firefighters responded to the call in the 300 block of North Mayflower at about 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Monrovia Fire Chief Christopher Donovan said.
"The residents tried to self-extinguish and were forced out of the house," Donovan said. "They then grabbed a garden house and attempted to put out the fire with a garden hose."
Donovan said the delay caused by the residents waiting to call 9-1-1 allowed the fire to spread more quickly than it would have if authorities were called immediately.
"Hoarding conditions" present inside the home "intensified the fire" and made the fire more difficult to extinguish, Donovan said.
The home is a complete loss and damage is estimated at about $300,000 for the home and property inside.
The cause of the fire was a heating pad on a blanket in the bedroom that overheated, Donovan said. No injuries were reported but the two occupants of the house have now been displaced, he said.
The number of homes burning over the weekend does seem odd. We used to see multiple house fires caused by exterior and interior decorative lights in the weeks before Christmas (the empty lot at the south-east corner of Foothill and Canyon used to have a beautiful Craftsman sitting on it). Since the introduction of cool, low-wattage LED lights, Christmas house fires are rare.
Overloaded circuits utilizing power strips in lieu of surge suppressors, unattended candles, outdated structural wiring, extension cords used in place of permanent wiring, accumulation of lint inside dryer cabinets and ductwork,.... are but a few examples of the many causations of house fires. And Christmas season is among the busiest time of year for house fires. Addressing the above will go a long way toward maintaining a fire-safe household environment. And regular replacement of smoke detector batteries is highly advised as well.
Maybe someone can identify specifically what these folks need once they have been relocated, and the community can do a drop off. Let's not forget the woman whose home burned Friday looking for her dog.
In the future i would suggest a little more tact when reporting on such things Mr. McIntire.