A man and two children got out safely Monday morning as a garage fire tore through their Sacramento home near Caravaggio Circle and Bankside Way, close to Commerce Circle, spreading up through the first and second floors and into the attic. One of the family's three dogs was accounted for, but fire officials said the other two might not have survived.
Firefighters responded to the reported garage fire and found a huge column of smoke pouring from the house, according to KCRA. Sacramento Fire Department spokesperson Justin Sylvia said crews feared the blaze could jump to neighboring homes because the structures in the area are clustered tightly together.
Despite that risk, fire crews managed a quick knockdown on the first and second floors that kept the flames from spreading to adjacent units, even as the fire pushed into the attic. The department had not determined a cause for the fire as of Monday.
Family Escaped, Fate of Two Dogs Uncertain
The man and two children who were inside the home when the fire broke out all made it out safely. Of the three dogs that were in the house, only one was accounted for; per Sylvia, the other two might not have survived the blaze.
Pattern of Dog Deaths in Recent Sacramento House Fires
Pets have been casualties in other recent Sacramento-area house fires. A fire that damaged multiple homes and displaced five people left three dogs dead, the station reported in earlier coverage. That same report included conflicting injury counts, with its lead stating two people were hurt while a later sentence in the same account said no one reported injuries — a discrepancy KCRA's own article does not resolve.
ABC10 reported that two additional dogs were burned in that same incident, on top of the three that died. Four adults and one child were displaced from the three structures involved, according to the earlier KCRA account.
Not every Sacramento house fire this year has ended in pet deaths. In a separate blaze, firefighters responding to a well-involved garage fire in the 8800 block of Lemas Avenue around 7:36 a.m. found the fire had extended into the home, FOX40 reported. Firefighters there rescued two dogs and a terrarium of reptiles, and the home's occupants had already evacuated safely before crews arrived.
As for Monday's fire near Commerce Circle, the cause remains under investigation, and the condition of the two unaccounted-for dogs has not been confirmed.
