Crime & Safety

Pacifica House Fire Kills Former Newark Junior High Student, Great-Grandfather

Three injured, others escape from the early morning blaze Sunday.

A boy and his great-grandfather were killed in a three-alarm fire that destroyed a home in Pacifica early Sunday morning, according to friends and a family member.

Christian Haro, a former student at , was well-known in Newark, according to a friend's mother, who said "Everyone knew Christian."

An uncle reached by phone Sunday afternoon confirmed what happened and said Haro had recently moved from Newark to Pacifica, where he was originally from.

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Firefighters were called to a two-story house fire at 552 Inverness Drive at about 5:55 a.m., North County Fire Authority spokesman Matt Lucett said.

Crews on scene initially tried to fight the fire from inside the home, but the flames became too intense and firefighters were forced to retreat, Lucett said.

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Occupants of the home who had evacuated told firefighters that two people were possibly still inside.

The bodies of two males were found inside, one on the first floor and one upstairs, Lucett said.

Three people were taken to San Francisco General Hospital with smoke inhalation and a burned arm, Lucett said. The injuries were not expected to be life threatening.

The fire was declared under control at 7:20 a.m.

Fire investigators remained at the scene this afternoon, trying to determine the cause.

The uncle, who did not give his full name, said Sunday afternoon that they don't know what happened, only that the fire spread too quickly for everyone to escape.

— Bay City News Contributed to this report


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