Fire displaces family of seven from historic home

Vallejo residents woke up last week to emergency sirens, fire alarms and smoky night skies when large flames engulfed an abandoned house and damaged another near the city's historic architectural heritage district .

The Vallejo Fire Department responded around 2:30 a.m. last Tuesday to a fire at 717 Alameda St., said Kevin Brown, an agency spokesman. The first caller reported that “the flames had already gone through the roof,” he said, and the structure was fully involved when fire trucks arrived.

“It was definitely one of our biggest fires of the year,” Brown said.

As flames reached the attic of the adjacent home, a Swiss chalet-style Craftsman at 721 Alameda St., firefighters launched a defensive attack and climbed onto the roof of that home with hoses.

“We made it our priority to save this structure,” Brown said of the second building, listed as a stop on the Vallejo Architectural Heritage Tour. “We were very aggressive and that allowed us to save the rest of the house. »

Oscar Cabrera, owner of the historic home, said his wife woke up agitated in the early hours of June 4 and saw a fire next door. She alerted her husband and five children – aged 17, 15, 13 and 9-year-old twins – who evacuated the house without injuries. The family also rescued several pets: a cat, a turtle, a gecko and a guinea pig, although the latter died several days after the fire, Cabrera said.

Cabrera, who has lived in Vallejo for nearly three decades, purchased the home in 2022 for its history and craftsmanship. He transformed the attic into a playroom so his children could watch TV and play video games. The room is now marked by significant damage: broken windows, a wall with paint bubbling from the heat, a hole dug in the ceiling by firefighters. The residence smells of smoke and has been cut off from electricity and gas, Cabrera said. Water from rescue operations damaged the house, from the attic to the kitchen.

The displaced family is now staying in a hotel. Cabrera said repairs, including replacing the roof, are expected to take three to six months.

More than 30 firefighters responded to the scene, including Vallejo personnel and mutual aid from Crockett, Benicia, American Canyon and Fairfield fire departments, Brown said.

Firefighters have found no definitive cause for the fire. Investigators have ruled it an accident, meaning they believe there was no malicious intent behind the fire, Brown said.

The fire came as no surprise to Cabrera and his family, who frequently saw “squatters” coming and going from 717 Alameda Street. The vacant house caught fire in the spring of 2022, shortly after the family moved in next door, according to Cabrera. The property was neglected after that incident, he said, despite numerous calls to the city.

“It was just a disaster there — overgrown trees, clothes, people throwing trash in the street,” Cabrera said. “It was a little worrying when you have kids right next door.”

Brown said firefighters responded to the same address at least twice in recent months for reports of smoke. The agency found small cooking or heating fires inside the home, Brown said, but no one at the scene. As a result, the ministry closed the building to prevent people from entering.

Cabrera said he called the fire department several months ago when he saw smoke coming from the house. He said firefighters found a barbecue grill inside and sealed off the house. Then, just three days before the most destructive fire, neighbors reported another fire at the same address; firefighters put it out and again tried to block the entrance to the house with plywood.

Cabrera said his wife called the Vallejo Police Department three or four times to report the neglected property. But the department “told her there really wasn't much they could do since she wasn't the owner” and asked her to file a complaint with the city that could take months to resolve, according to Cabrera .

Spokespeople for the city and police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Although upset by the lack of police action regarding his neighbor's property, Cabrera said firefighters responded to every call from neighbors regarding smoke or fire at the property.

“Without them, I would be totally without a home,” he said of the Vallejo Fire Department. “At least for now I have a chance to repair and restore it.”