home fire

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Winter has arrived in the Lake Tahoe Basin along with the holiday season. Local fire districts and their partners would like to take this opportunity to remind residents and visitors to properly dispose of fireplace/woodstove ashes and to use caution when decorating for the holiday. The following safety tips are recommended by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to help keep your home safe this winter/holiday season.

Fireplaces and Woodstoves

For the third time in two evenings, South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) was called out to a fire, this time at a duplex on Markoffer Road near Pioneer Trail.

At 7:06 p.m., firefighters responded to an emergency call to one unit of the duplex where an electrical fire had occurred.

It was a small fire according to SLT Fire Captain Al Martinez. He said the likely cause is a nail through a wire leading to the home's furnace. Martinez told South Tahoe Now that the solo occupant of the home was displaced for the night since the heater was out of service.

When an inmate attempted to take his life earlier this year by throwing himself over a balcony with a makeshift rope around his neck, Detention Facility Deputy Michel Eubanks literally flew to the rescue, bounding up the stairs to make the rescue with the help of three inmate work crew members.

A woman has died in a fire near Kingsbury Grade Friday morning.

Eric Guevon with the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District says the fire at the Ponderosa Mobile Home Park was reported about 12:30 a.m November 13, 2015.

A woman in her 60s was found dead; she died of fire-related causes, but a further cause of death has not been established. Her name has not been released.

The fire started with food left on a stove and is being considered unintentional, according to Guevon, who also says there is no evidence there was a smoke detector in the home.

The South Lake Tahoe Fire Department hosted their first annual open house on October 11th in recognition of National Fire Prevention week. Visitors toured all three fire stations and learned about the importance of having and checking smoke detectors, hands only CPR, using a fire extinguisher and also completed a passport card for entry into a grand prize drawing for of a dinner for four prepared by the firefighters. The Gower family of Eric, Jamie, Rowen, and Abby were the winners of the Open House dinner.