More than 20 firefighters and an arson investigator responded to the scene of a house fire in Citrus Heights that reportedly began with explosion sounds Saturday afternoon.
Resident Matthew Borja, who lives several house away from where the fire occurred on Glen Field Court, said he heard a loud “boom” and then walked outside to find a large cloud of black smoke, and then another explosion.
“It sounded like a bomb,” said Borja. “A huge boom.”
Battalion Chief Mark Repetto said Metro Fire received a call about the fire around 4:45 p.m. Saturday. He said crews quickly put out the blaze, which appeared to have started near the back deck, traveled to the house and then into the attic.
He said an arson investigator was called in due to the report of explosions, but a determination on the cause had not been made as of 5:30 p.m. Repetto said no one was home at the time of the fire, but two cats and a dog were rescued from the home. Both cats were put on oxygen briefly but were reportedly okay.
According to an update posted on Metro Fire’s Twitter account, the fire caused an estimated $50,000 in damage and is still under investigation.
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