WATSONVILLE — A fire at a mobile home unit in Watsonville early Tuesday is being investigated by local detectives as an attempted murder after the incident sent three individuals to the hospital with burn injuries.
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City of Watsonville Public Information Officer Michelle Pulido said during a morning media gaggle, that units with the Watsonville Fire Department responded to reports of a structure fire around 7:22 a.m. within the Portola Heights Mobile Home Park off Crespi Way. Upon arriving at the scene of the incident, the first responders discovered police officers had already arrived and were helping with evacuations as the fire continued to engulf the unit.
Total firefighters were numbered at approximately 20 and they were able to get the fire under control by about 7:40 a.m.
“Right now, our firefighters and the police department are working together to try to determine the cause and the origin of the fire,” said Pulido, about two hours after the fire had been extinguished.
According to a subsequent social media post from the Watsonville Police Department, they were called to the scene due to indications that the fire had been set intentionally. Preliminary investigative findings allege that 65-year-old Duane Hawkins arrived at the home and started the fire following an argument, officials noted in the public release.
Three adults — two men and one women — were inside the residence when the fire occurred, Pulido shared. Two of those individuals were taken to a nearby hospital with minor injuries, but due to the sensitive nature of the case, officials did not share additional information about their identities Tuesday.
Hawkins suffered moderate injuries and was taken to a Bay Area burn center for treatment. According to Watsonville police, he is expected to be charged with attempted murder and arson upon his release.
In addition to the Watsonville fire agency, the response included trucks from Cal Fire’s CZU unit, North Monterey County, Pajaro Dunes and Central fire protection districts. Pulido said the Red Cross was also called in to provide any needed support to neighbors that might have been impacted by the incident.
A few hours after the blaze had been contained, a pool of a red substance that appeared to be blood could be seen on the street outside of the mobile home, along with a pile of clothes that were also coated in red.
Residents of the mobile home park told the Sentinel that there have been numerous past incidents of domestic disputes, such as screaming and shouting, at the home where the fire occurred Tuesday. Residents said multiple police vehicles were outside of the home as recently as Monday night.
Asked about the possibility of a domestic dispute around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Pulido responded, “That’s something that’s still under investigation at the moment. We do have detectives who were called to the scene that are trying to really piece together what happened this morning.”
Pulido said the unit that went up in flames was completely damaged and will be red tagged.
“A lot of work is still needed here,” she said.
The Santa Cruz County Fire Investigation Task Force was additionally called to the scene of the fire and will help with the investigation, the release noted.