RV fire causes woman’s death at SLO County safe parking site: ‘A great lady.’
A homeless woman died in a fire in her recreational vehicle Tuesday morning at the Safe Parking site on Kansas Avenue, according to Cal Fire.
The fire started around 6 a.m.
“The resident of the RV is confirmed deceased along with several cats,” a Cal Fire Twitter post said. “Investigator is on scene.”
Cal Fire Spokesman Adan Orozco told The Tribune that the cause of the blaze is under investigation. Orozco said the deceased woman is believed to be 54.
“There are multiple people who reside on this lot and numerous people attempted to save her who said that she was their friend,” Orozco said. “They tried to break windows and get inside but it was just too hot. They did use several small fire extinguishers, but the fire was too great for those.”
Orozco said a coroner was on scene and they were working to identify the woman, whose body was burned. Authorities are investigating the cause of death, Orozco said.
“A life lost in this manner is tragic,” said SLO County Administrative Office Wade Horton in a news release. “I understand from staff that she was a sweet woman who had a heart for animals. We are grateful crews were able to contain the flames to one unit, but are heavy-hearted to hear about the fire and loss of a life.”
County staff distributes fire extinguishers and smoke detectors to guests at Kansas Avenue, the news release said. There are typically 80 to 90 people staying at the site on any given night, the county added.
“Cal Fire is handling the investigation,” the news release said. “CAPSLO and county staff are on site to assist guests today. The name of the deceased is being held pending notification of next of kin.”
Witnesses describe scene of RV fire
Witnesses Nick and Amanda Watson live on the site.
“We were her friends,” Amanda Watson said. “She was a great lady.”
The witnesses identified her, but The Tribune isn’t naming her under her next of kin have been notified.
Amanda Watson said they barbecued together on a weekly basis and saw her every day. She cleaned houses to make money.
“She was from Oceano originally,” Amanda Watson said. “She had five kids. She was an addict, but had been sober for a year. She was doing that for her kids.”
Nick Watson said he’d been asking the county for a fire hose to prepare for a fire situation like this one.
“We had asked for fire hoses when we first got here to prepare for something like this,” he said. “But all they gave us was fire extinguishers. It wasn’t enough.”
Watson said he was in his trailer sleeping when someone came yelling about the fire.
“I grabbed a fire extinguisher that I have and I ran out and followed the smoke and joined the other people,” Nick Watson said. “There were a bunch of people and everyone here was trying to help put that fire out.”
The RV was an “old, broken down RV she had hauled over here,” Nick Watson said. It was not functioning, he added.
The Watsons said it was a cold night.
Nick Watson said the RV was locked when they tried to get her out, breaking windows.
“Some people heard her calling out in there,” he said. “We tried to break windows but it was too late.”
A call for housing for homeless individuals
Becky Jorgeson, the founder of the nonprofit homeless support organization, Hope’s Village of SLO, said in an email Tuesday morning: “We’ve been asking for a tiny house village for 10 years. Do you think this tragedy could get us going in the right direction, instead of our local unhoused residents dying in fires in old rat trap vehicles?”
Nick Watson said that if the woman had a warm place to sleep, like in a tiny home, the deadly fire likely would have been avoided.
A public presentation will be held called “A Solution to Homelessness in Your Town” on March 19 at 7 p.m. at Mountainbrook Church at 1775 Calle Joaquin in SLO.
The speaker, Charles Durrett, will talk about housing solutions, Jorgeson said.
“He’s developed more than 50 other community villages and can help us too,” Jorgeson said.
This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 8:46 AM.
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