Spontaneous combustion of rags suspected as cause of La Cañada home fire

A fire thought to be started by the spontaneous combustion of rags left over from a home renovation project ravaged a three-story Jarvis Avenue residence on the evening of Sept. 10, although occupants who were home at the time escaped unharmed.

Officials from the County Sheriff’s and Fire departments convened at 5417 Jarvis Ave. the next morning to survey damage done to the 8,000-square-foot single-family residence. The homeowners were present, talking with insurance representatives but did not wish to comment.

“I’m not ready to talk yet,” said a woman, who identified herself as a homeowner. “I’m just taking all this in right now.”

Los Angeles County Fire Captain Richard Garcia, whose unit was the first to respond to the 5:30 p.m. call for a two-alarm fire, said smoke could be seen issuing forth from various sections of the house.

“We had heavy smoke showing from the front and rear of the structure,” he said. “(The family) had working smoke detectors, but it sounds like a neighbor behind notified them there was smoke coming from the back of the structure.”

A neighbor saw smoke and called 911. She then quickly drove to check on the residents and found three children and a dog at the house.

By the time firefighters entered the home through the front door and followed the main hallway to the home’s rear kitchen area, they saw flames on both sides, Garcia said.

The kitchen and an adjacent dining area were in the process of being remodeled and were not being used at the time of the incident. Investigators determined that fumes from a pile of lacquer-soaked floor rags used to finish the area’s flooring spontaneously ignited, causing the blaze.

“Because the floor had been recently refinished, the whole surface had vapors on it,” Garcia explained. “These vapors, once they have the right mixture, can really take off.”

Damage to the structure is being estimated at around $1 million, with additional loss from the home’s contents. According to information from the Los Angeles County Assessor’s office, the residence was purchased in January for $2,050,020.

Though the entirety of the home suffered smoke and water damage, fire directly destroyed about 50% to 75% of the structure, Garcia estimated.

Sgt. Joseph Guarino, a detective with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, visited the home the next morning to determine the fire’s point of origin. He said officials from the sheriff’s department respond to fires whenever a fatality, injury or loss of more than $7,500 is reported.

Although he could not provide specific details on the case, Guarino said it appears to have been an accident.

“That’s pretty much what it looks like,” he said, “There’s nothing to indicate it was anything otherwise.”

On Thursday morning, neighbors and friends dropped by to pay their respects to the homeowners, who toured the premises with insurance representatives and a box of surgical masks on hand.

Sporting equipment saved from the damage lay on the front lawn. Garcia said family members were allowed to retrieve valuables and undamaged personal effects salvaged by fire crews.

La Cañada High School Principal Ian McFeat, who learned of the incident after receiving an email around midnight, stopped by to offer his condolences to the family, whom he acknowledged as part of the La Cañada High School family.

“Anything that happens to any of us happens to all of us,” he said.