Fourplex fire displaces 13 in Williams

Jan. 18--A two-story fourplex caught fire on Saturday afternoon, causing up to $75,000 in damages and displacing 13 people from their homes in Williams.

Williams Fire Protection Authority Chief Jeff Gilbert said his department received the request for assistance call for the 400 block of Ninth Street at 12:30 p.m. Emergency services out of Arbuckle, Maxwell and Colusa also responded to the scene.

"It came in as an electrical fire, and when our firefighters arrived, they had heavy smoke coming out of the structure," Gilbert said. "That's when our firefighters conducted an interior attack and were able to confine the fire to a particular wall unit. The fire was burning in between the first and second floors."

Gilbert said the fire was contained to about a 15-square-foot area but had crawled between the two floors. After arriving, firefighters found that smoke detectors were not operating properly at the time of the incident.

"The electrical fire was caused by a space heater plugged into electrical outlet," Gilbert said. "The lady stated they were having electrical problems around 9 a.m, so it probably burned for two to three hours before anybody noticed it."

The fire caused an estimated $70,000 to $75,000 in damages. In addition to the damages from the smoke and fire, Gilbert said the residents of the fourplex -- 12 adults and one child -- were displaced by the fire.

The Yuba-Sutter Red Cross responded to the site of the fire to provide assistance to the families.

"The Yuba-Sutter Red Cross was called and told 12 people were involved in a house fire, so they responded with four people to provide short-term assistance for the families," Gilbert said. "They did a great job."

Other groups in the community are trying to raise donations for the displaced families. Pat Ash, president of Citizens for a Better Williams, worked over the holiday weekend to get information about the families and what they need.

"It's been a roller-coaster ride this weekend," Ash said. "But we are taking donations for clothing for the families, but I'm not exactly sure on sizes or anything like that."

Ash has only been in contact with one of the families in need. She said the family needs medium women's clothing, medium and large men's shirts, medium pants (30x32), and size 91/2 shoes. To donate, contact Ash by visiting the Citizens for a Better Williams page on Facebook (@citizensforabetterwilliams).

Ash said Victory Alliance Insurance Office in Colusa is also offering a drop-off point for donations. Contact Victor Matamoros at 1027 Bridge St., Colusa.

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