Citizen Staff Writer
DAVID L. TEIBEL
dteibel@tucsoncitizen.com
A woman was injured Thursday morning in a house fire, but a firefighter was unscathed by debris from the home’s collapsing roof.
Four dogs found in the backyard of the East Side home escaped serious injury, Tucson fire Capt. Tricia Tracy said. A fifth dog that had been missing was found unharmed late Thursday morning running around the yard.
The pets may have saved themselves by fleeing through a “doggy door” leading to the backyard. Tracy could not tell whether the dogs were singed or just sooty from the fire’s smoke and debris.
Tracy couldn’t provide more information on the injured 64-year-old resident because of a federal patient confidentiality law.
The fire, reported at 8:29 a.m., spread from the home in the 2800 block of South Palm Springs Drive to a neighboring house, Tracy said. The cause is under investigation.
Tracy said the firefighter appeared to be unharmed, but he was sent to a hospital for a precautionary exam. None of the other roughly 50 firefighters sustained injuries.
The fire gutted the first home, causing an estimated $300,000 damage, she said. A sprinkler system in the second home halted the progress of the blaze, which caused about $50,000 of damage there.
East Side fire injures woman; five dogs rescued