Investigators provide insight as to what hindered efforts to rescue woman from burning home

Posted: Jan 19, 2012 10:48 PM by Dan Shadwell, KSBY News
Updated: Jan 19, 2012 10:51 PM

Tonight we know more about the woman killed in the house fire near Bishop Peak in San Luis Obispo.

79-year-old Barbara Beck was pronounced dead at Sierra Vista Hospital last night after firefighters pulled her out of her burning home. Investigators say the fire started in the kitchen with an unattended stove. The house, located in the 500 block of Al-Hil Drive is painted with smoke stains and soot.

In the light of day, it's easier to tell that the charred box now leaning against the outside wall, was the refrigerator.
When firefighters arrived last night shortly after seven, the interior was fully engulfed and the exterior of the house was already on fire as well. Even live Juniper bushes 30 feet from the house were burned bare.

Mrs. beck lived alone and while none of the neighbors we talked to today say they knew her well, it's clear she is missed. This afternoon, two young girls approached the Beck residence and placed flowers where a make-shift memorial now stands near the curb...Seven-year-old Eden Lerner says she and her mother used to walk by the Beck residence with their dog, Hoover and Mrs. Beck would say hello. "She would always want to pet Hoover," Eden explained.

Eden's mom, Susie says it was mostly small talk. "I would just interact with her when we would walk by mostly when I would walk the dog in the neighborhood and she was always eager to pet the dog and chit-chat. She was just outside a lot just sort of sweeping... just an opportunity to socialize with neighbors."

Investigators say the home was full of combustible materials Mrs. Beck had collected over the years. That and the fact that there were no working smoke detectors in the home made fighting the fire more difficult and likely contributed to the late discovery of the fire. By the time crews found Mrs. Beck in a back bedroom, she was non-responsive and died a short time later at the hospital.

Firefighters say it's a good reminder to us all to make sure our smoke detectors are working and that we all have good evacuation plans in place.

The Beck home was severely damaged and will have to be gutted or torn down. Investigators estimate the damage at $200-thousand.