Son Pulls Father From Burning West Sonoma County Home: Fire Dept.

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — An 85-year-old man, whose son dragged him from his burning home near Occidental on Tuesday, suffered second- and third-degree burns and was flown to a burn center in Sacramento, Occidental Volunteer Fire Chief Ron Lunardi said.

The fire at 11660 Occidental Road near Furlong Road in rural and wooded west Sonoma County was reported around 6:50 p.m. A preliminary report said one person was possibly trapped in the structure, Lunardi said.

The fire collapsed and destroyed the home of 85-year-old Don Hanni and heavily damaged the home of his son Robert Hanni. The two-story structures comprising about 3,000 square feet were connected by a common area, Lunardi said.

Robert Hanni found his father near a window in the front of the house and dragged him out a sliding glass door.

Sonoma County sheriff's deputies responded to the fire and flew Don Hanni to the Firefighters Burn Institute Regional Burn Center at the University of California at Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, Lunardi said.

The elder Hanni's Ford pickup truck also burned, the chief said.

The fire was extinguished in a little more than an hour, and firefighters remained at the scene Tuesday night and returned Wednesday to check for hot spots.

Firefighters from Cal Fire, Graton, Gold Ridge Fire Protection District, Sebastopol, Bodega, Bodega Bay, Camp Meeker, Monte Rio and Santa Rosa also responded to the blaze.

The Occidental Volunteer Fire Department has 20 volunteers and eight to 10 active firefighters. All of the volunteers were among the firefighters, Lunardi said.

Bay City News Service