Resident suffers burn injuries after house goes up in flames in Atascadero

ATASCADERO, Calif. - An Atascadero resident suffered burn injuries to several parts of his body after his house went up in flames, exploding thousands of rounds of ammunition Friday evening.

Atascadero firefighters received reports of the residential structure fire around 4:43 p.m. and responded to the 7700 block of Valle Avenue.

Upon arriving, crews reported over half of a 1400-square-foot home burning heavily and that the fire had spread to about a half-acre of vegetation near other buildings.

The resident of the home was found to have suffered burn injuries to his arms, face and back. He was treated by medics at the scene.

Crews said, in order to access the property, they had to traverse a narrow driveway about 1,000 feet up which only allowed for the placement of one fire engine. All other resources had to remain parked at the bottom of the hill while firefighters hiked their gear up to the home.

The fire department said the fire burned into a storage area filled with personal ammunition. More than 5,000 rounds of ammo exploded during the event.

After about 15 minutes, crews deemed the building too unsafe to occupy and they had to retreat outside to finish battling the blaze.

The fire was fully extinguished after 30 minutes. No firefighters were injured during the incident.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Assistance was requested from the county regional arson investigation task force.