A woman died and a man suffered major injuries Sunday night when fire broke out in their single-story home on the 500 block of Cedar Street in Watsonville.
Firefighters were quick to arrive on the scene at the corner of Bridge Street in Pajaro VIllage, where they were met with flames surging out several windows and a dark column of smoke curling into the night sky.
“Someone was coming down Bridge Street and saw the fire,” said neighbor Brian Thomas. “He banged on my door and I raced over and shot water on the fire with my garden hose. The man kicked in the sliding door to help two people trapped inside.”
Within minutes firefighters hauled a man and woman out of the burning home and took turns administering CPR to the woman in the driveway.
Meanwhile, another team of firefighters and paramedics treated the man off to the side of the driveway as swarms of onlookers gathered near to the scene to watch the drama unfold.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, said Division Chief Corey Schaefer.
He added that the fire appeared to be contained to the living room and that firefighters got a quick knock down on the blaze. He said it was too early to determine the cause of the blaze.
The incident is still under investigation.
This story has been updated from an earlier version.
