‘Smoking materials’ on desk likely sparked Merced house fire, firefighters say

A bedroom in a North Merced home caught fire after smoking materials ignited a desk, firefighters said.

No one reported injuries in the house fire Friday at 4324 Mathias Way, and the fire was contained to the room, Merced City Fire Capt. Jeff Cole said.

The incident was first reported as a structure fire at about 10:30 a.m. When firefighters responded, no smoke was showing, Cole said.

The sole occupant in the home at the time had evacuated and told firefighters the fire was in a roommate’s room, Cole said. When they searched, firefighters found a small desk that was on fire, but the high levels of smoke in the room had suffocated the fire.

From the initial investigation, it appears that some smoking materials left on the desk of the room may have ignited the desk with the help of a fan that was blowing air on it, Cole said. However, investigators were in the process of determining an official cause.

A witness said the house is occupied by several UC Merced students.