FULLERTON : Woman Overcome in Suspicious Fire

A fire of suspicious origin in a single-family home briefly hospitalized one woman with smoke inhalation Tuesday.

A team of 14 firefighters extinguished the blaze at 1124 W. Houston Ave. in 16 minutes, but officials estimated that it caused at least $40,000 in damage. The fire alarm was sounded about 2:20 p.m.

The injured woman, DeEha Boatner, 43, lived in the house with her husband and four other family members, Fire Department Battalion Chief John Clark said. She was home alone at the time of the fire.

Officials said Boatner tried to douse the fire with water buckets before it grew out of control and she became trapped inside. She eventually retreated to the garage floor, where firefighters found her after hearing her screams.

Clark said the cause of the fire was still under investigation, but he described it as suspicious.