BANNING — Two Banning seniors died in a house fire that also left two people injured, authorities said Monday.
Dora and Chris Palacios were fatally injured in the blaze shortly before 5 a.m. Saturday on John Street, near Hargrave Street, just south of the 10 Freeway. They were reportedly mother and son.
According to the Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department, six engine crews were sent to the blaze at 4:50 a.m. and encountered smoke and flames emanating from the single-story house.
Firefighters deployed to prevent the blaze from spreading to surrounding properties and encountered two people who had evacuated from the residence, suffering unspecified non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.
“There was a double fatality. The victims were discovered by fire personnel,” county fire department spokeswoman Maggie Cline de La Rosa told City News Service.
She said the blaze was completely knocked down at 5:20 a.m.
The two occupants who had evacuated from the property, neither of whom was identified, utilized their own transportation to go to a nearby hospital for treatment, according to the fire department.
Cal Fire investigators were summoned to identify the exact source of the blaze, which had not been confirmed as of Monday. There was no word regarding why Chris and Dora Palacios were unable to escape the flames.
“I’m reaching out to everyone to help us in this difficult time,” the victims’ relative, Daniel Palacios, wrote in a GoFundMe account started to raise money for the victims’ funeral. “This is a tough time for us all. Anything helps — prayers, donations.”
The account can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/f/fund-for-dora-and-chriss-final-farewell?cdn-cache=0
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