Busy night for Sebastopol Police ends with a dramatic fire rescue
A wrong-way DUI late Tuesday and a fire at a house on Fircrest Avenue in the early hours of Wednesday morning
Police Chief Sean McDonagh was wrapping up a very long day at the Sebastopol Police Department late Tuesday night when what he thought would be a few quiet hours of routine paperwork turned into, first, a complicated DUI arrest, and then an exciting rescue that saved the life of an elderly Sebastopol resident.
“I had finished the city council meeting late and returned to the department afterwards to take care of some administrative work,” McDonagh said. Over the radio, he heard that Officer Josiah Wotila was following a car that was having difficulty negotiating Sebastopol’s one-way streets. McDonagh headed over to lend a hand.
From Sebastopol Avenue, the car in question first turned right (i.e., north) onto Main Street, a southbound street. Then, perhaps having figured out that they were going the wrong way on a one-way street, the driver turned east onto McKinley, a one-way street going west. Happily, this happened just before midnight so there weren’t a lot of other cars on the road.
It turned out that both the 27-year-old female driver and 23-year-old male passenger were convicted felons. The driver, who had seven previous DUI arrests, was found to be under the influence, and an open container of alcohol was found in the car.
“Officer Wotila was transporting the arrested DUI driver to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, so I stayed in the city to cover patrol in his absence as I did not want to leave Officer Baldovinos on his own to respond to calls,” McDonagh said. The department has a policy of always having two officers on duty at the same time to act as backup for each other.
An hour later, the chief was back at the police department, having a late-night (or, by then, very early morning) bowl of cereal, when he heard a 911 call come in.
“Dispatcher Chris Mooney, an amazing, near-30-year veteran of this department, was taking the 911 call and verbally advised us of the house fire and address,” McDonagh said. “Officer Baldovinos and I were able to respond Code 3 to the house before the call was put over the radio, saving valuable seconds.” (Code 3 refers to an emergency response that requires the use of both lights and sirens due to a high-priority situation, such as immediate danger to life or property.)
Officer Jaime Baldovinos and Chief McDonagh were the first to arrive on the scene in the 7000 block of Fircrest Avenue at around 1:15 am. Finding the entire front of the home engulfed in flames, they raced to the rear of the house, where they located a disabled, elderly resident trapped inside a back bedroom.
Officer Baldovinos and Chief McDonagh carried the woman from the smoke-filled structure, while Officer Wotila worked at the front of the residence, using his fire extinguisher to suppress the flames.
Firefighters from the Gold Ridge Fire District arrived moments later and extinguished the blaze with assistance from the Graton Fire Department and other local agencies.
The resident was treated at the scene by Sonoma County medical personnel and transported to Santa Rosa for further evaluation.
Gold Ridge Fire District Chief Shepley Schroth-Cary commended the police on their quick action, noting that a delay of even 60 seconds could have resulted in a fatal outcome.
Schroth-Cary said the fire, which was quickly contained, destroyed the front room of the house and that there was severe smoke damage throughout the home.
“Our goal is always to keep the fire to the room of origin, and then, ideally never beyond the structure of origin. But in this case, I can say that because of a quick arrival and swift action, the damage was minimal or as minimal as it could be given the volume of fire.”
According to Schroth-Cary, the fire was actually reported by the elderly resident. “She noticed the fire, tried to extinguish it, then kind of retreated toward the back of the house to a bedroom where she needed assistance to get out because she’s not super mobile.”
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but Schroth-Cary said it was possibly caused by candles.
“I like candles and incense and wood fires—all that stuff—and the warmth it brings, but it’s got to be tended carefully,” he said.
Makes one feel real good about our Police Dept and Chief.
Seven DUI's and she was still out there driving? How does that happen? Good job on the fire.