Families Lose Homes In Duplex Fire

Fire raced through a duplex early Wednesday, destroying one unit and badly damaging the other.

No one was injured by the 7:50 a.m. blaze, but it left two families searching for new homes.

The fire started in the garage, said Karl Bold, Valley Fire assistant chief. Flames climbed up a wall at 10921 E. 33rd and were shooting from the attic when firefighters arrived, Bold said.

Thirty firefighters working from six trucks battled the blaze for nearly an hour before bringing it under control.

Both units were occupied by tenants, and neither of the families was insured.

Neighbor Dennis Kuespert saw smoke and flames in the garage while driving his children to school. He stopped, pounded on both doors and alerted the occupants, said Eric Olson, deputy fire marshal.

Sean McDonough, 17, lived with his father, Douglass, and 15-year-old sister in the unit above the garage where the fire started, spotted the fire at about the same time.

The McDonoughs moved in about a month ago, and had most of their belongings stored in the garage, Olson said.

“(They) lost virtually everything,” Olson said.

Roger and Christina Cain lived next door with their two children - a 13-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son. Only Christina Cain and the couple’s son were home when the fire started. They were able to salvage some of their possessions, including a car parked inside the garage under their unit.

A preliminary investigation of the McDonough’s garage points to an electrical problem with the automatic garage door opener as a possible cause of the fire, Olson said.

The duplex sustained about $75,000 worth of damage, Olson said.

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