1 adult dog, 10 puppies perished and $300,000 estimated damage in G street structure fire

On 5/2/2020 at 1710hrs, Humboldt Bay Fire was dispatched to a reported Structure Fire with occupants trapped at the 3400 block of G St.

The fire arriving engine reported a single story residential structure with heavy fire and smoke visible from the front and side of the structure. A 2nd alarm was requested and an interior fire attack and search for victims was initiated.

Fire crews also performed vertical ventilation by cutting holes in the roof and protected a neighboring residence with hose lines. The fire continued to grow in size and all interior crews were removed from the inside the structure and a defensive fire attack was initiated.

About that time the two occupants of the residence were located near the fire scene and were uninjured.
The fire took approx. 30 minutes to control and fire crews remained on scene for 2 hours to completely extinguish the fire.

Humboldt Bay Fire responded with 1 Truck, 4 Engines and 2 Chief Officers. Arcata Fire District responded with 1 Engine and 1 Chief Officer. Samoa Fire District and Loleta Fire District provided coverage of Humboldt Bay Fire’s jurisdiction during the incident.

Unfortunately, 1 adult dog and 10 puppies perished in the fire and the cause of the fire is still under investigation but initial signs indicate an electric space heater to warm the puppies may have been placed too close to combustible materials. Damage to the structure is significant and estimated loss to the structure and contents are estimated at $300,000.

Humboldt Bay fire would like to the thank the following agencies for their assistance; Arcata Fire District, Samoa Fire District, Loleta Fire District, City Ambulance, Eureka Police Department and Animal Control, PG&E and the American Red Cross.