According to Tracy Fire Department Division Chief Dave Bramell, firefighters were called to 11803 W. Valpico Road at 5:28 a.m.
Firefighters reported flames shooting out of the front, rear and east sides of the ranch-style house.
The fire was under control within an hour, though the home’s interior was destroyed. Bramell said firefighters were able to keep the flames from damaging a detached garage, as well as several vehicles parked inside the garage and in front of the house.
The division chief said the residents were lucky to escape, because the house had no working smoke detectors.
The woman who lived in the house had reportedly warned another resident about the fire and helped him escape the flames, Bramell said. The second man living in the house was not home at the time.
One firefighter sustained minor injures, and the woman’s dog was killed by the fire.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, Bramell said, but fire officials believe the fire started in a bedroom in the northeast corner of the house. He said they do not believe it was intentional.
Bramell also said the house was without electrical power at the time of the fire, because Pacific Gas and Electric Co. turned it off a few days earlier for an unknown reason.
Damages were estimated to be $250,000, and the residents have reportedly been relocated to a local motel by the American Red Cross.
• Contact Denise Ellen Rizzo at 830-4225 or drizzo@tracypress.com.
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