Sentinel staff report–
An odd mix of both flooding and fire struck a Citrus Heights home Friday night, after Metro Fire said a fire in the attic melted through a water pipe and saturated the home with several inches of water.
Metro Fire Battalion Chief Brad Schumacher said firefighters initially responded to a call of flooding inside a residence on the 7400 block of Mariposa Avenue around 7 p.m., Friday. Responding firefighters then located a fire in the attic of the single-story residence and called for additional units, resulting in a total of six fire trucks arriving on scene.
The battalion chief described damage to the home as “moderate,” noting that portions of ceiling had to be pulled down to gain access to the fire. At least one firefighter was observed gearing up with a backpack vacuum to assist with flooding mitigation.
Kathleen Rink, a nearby neighbor, said she initially smelled something like paper burning in the air on Friday night, which later had a “kind of chemically smell.” She said the home has had outdoor trash burns before, and she assumed it was happening again until seeing Metro Fire trucks arrive.
Neighbors said the home, located a half-block from Old Auburn Road, is known to be a common site of police activity. In June, Citrus Heights police announced that a search of the residence resulted in the seizure of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, along with four arrests.
“They’ve had the cops called on this house at least six times in the past year,” Kathleen’s daughter Randi told The Sentinel. “It seems like there’s cops here all the time.”
Asked about the cause of fire, Schumacher said the fire was determined to be electrical in nature and did not appear suspicious or drug-related. Although several people were home at the time of the fire, the battalion chief said no one was injured.
Another house fire occurred earlier in the afternoon on the border of Orangevale and Citrus Heights on Woodmore Oaks Drive, blowing a cloud of smoke in the air and causing major damage to the structure — although no injuries were reported. Schumacher said the cause of that blaze is undetermined.
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