Firefighters discovered a mother and daughter were killed in a Fontana house fire, despite smoke detectors functioning. Tony Shin reports for the NBC4 News at 6 on Monday, Feb. 15, 2016.
The bodies of a 43-year-old woman and her 7-year-old daughter were discovered after firefighters put out a fire fueled by strong winds at a home in Fontana Monday morning, officials said.
"It was all smoke, all over," Pablo Pandeli, a neighbor, said. "Flames and sparks."
The fire was reported just after 1:15 a.m. in the 17700 block of Owen Street, San Bernardino County Fire Department Capt. Jeremy Kern said.
Heavy fire coming from at least three sides of the single-story home spread to the garage, patio, and portions of the home's living space, Kern said.
Firefighters worked for about 30 minutes to knock down the flames.
After an "aggressive offensive fire attack," crews conducted a search and found two people dead inside the bedroom, officials said.
Firefighters said it appears the fire moved so quickly that the two didn't have time to escape.
Fire officials said the fire was believed to have started in the backyard and quickly spread due to strong wind gusts of at least 45 mph. They also said the home had working smoke alarms.
"Smoke detectors were present in the home," Chief Doug Nelson, San Bernardino County Fire, said. "They were going off. They were alerting the occupants at that time."
A home next door was red-tagged after it was heavily damaged by the fire. Homewoner Lucy Ponce Chaidez said she had to evacuate as she said the flames nearing.
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"All I know is that I was yelling, 'Help!'" said Chaidez. "A black car stopped in the middle of the street. [The driver] grabbed a hose started watering the side of the house."
San Bernardino Coroner's officials confimed the ages and relation of the victims. Their identification was being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
No estimates of damage were immediately available.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
"My heart goes out to the family. It's sad the way those victims had to die. Nobody ever wishes to die that way. It's just awful," Chaidez said.
Tony Shin contributed to this report.
