A house fire in Nipomo took the life of a 17-year-old girl and at least two dogs.
The fire happened at a home in the 1400 block of West Tefft Street across from Calico Court sometime after 1 a.m. on Tuesday.
"Structure fire, one person trapped," a dispatcher said over the scanner.
"It was about 1:30 and I heard a big explosion and yelling," said neighbor, David Gomez. "Thought it was a car accident in front of the house."
Gomez soon realized it was his next-door neighbor's house on fire.
"I went back in and had my daughter call 911 and I got clothes on and went to go jump over the fence and give them a hand. Trying to put the water out with a water hose," Gomez said.
"I was scared but I was in shock at the same time and worried," said his daughter, Mahliah Gomez.
"The house was engulfed in flames so it was pretty hard just using the water hose," Gomez said.
Gomez says as he was using a hose, the glass windows were shattering and falling from the second story.
"Fire showing from the first floor and second floor," said one of the first responders over the scanner.
CAL FIRE SLO says a 17-year-old girl inside the home did not survive along with at least two dogs.
Two other people were taken to the hospital.
"Never thought I would ever experience something like this," Gomez said. "It's a big tragedy but a huge loss for everyone. Our neighbors, my daughters and kids and family. Never seen tragedy like this happen in our community, next-door neighbors."
At this point, we do not yet know the cause of this fire. CAL FIRE has a team investigating.
Multiple fire agencies responded to the fire including CAL FIRE SLO, Five Cities Fire Authority, and Santa Maria Fire Departments.
