Early on Saturday morning, April 10, a fire broke out at the three-story residence of 1704 Grand Avenue in the Lower Riviera neighborhood. Fire detectors alerted most of the tenants of danger, and they were safely evacuated. After breaking through a series of locked doors, however, firefighters rescued a woman found sleeping in her downstairs bedroom.
According to Santa Barbara City Fire Captain Jim McCoy, the tenant of the upstairs bedroom had left a candle unattended, and upon returning to his bedroom found it immersed in flames. He unsuccessfully attempted to expel the blaze with a series of extinguishers, thus suffering burns on his hand and smoke inhalation. He was rushed by ambulance to Cottage ER. The large amount of possessions and combustible items found in the upstairs bedroom forced firefighters to stay on the scene for several hours.