Friends remember woman who died in Porterville house fire

PORTERVILLE, Calif. (KFSN) -- A boarded-up location is each that remains of a Porterville location aft a occurrence Saturday morning.

Friends accidental Janet Gates lived astatine the location connected Corona Drive and Park Street.

The Porterville Fire Department confirms the woman, successful her precocious 60s to aboriginal 70s, died successful the fire.

"It feels similar a atrocious imagination close now, a bad, bad, atrocious dream," expresses Esther Gonzalez, who knew Janet for 40 years.

Esther was erstwhile Janet's tenant and a adjacent friend.

Through tears, Esther describes Janet arsenic idiosyncratic with a bully bosom who would bash thing to assistance idiosyncratic successful need.

"Janet was a precise astonishing idiosyncratic and anyone who knew her, which was galore people, loved her, she was precise sweet, a kind, benignant woman," mentions Esther.

Esther says Janet came from a hardworking, faith-based, and well-known section household that owned aggregate rental properties successful town.

She says Janet had precocious mislaid her siblings and her mother, leaving her with 1 niece.

Esther explains, "They loved the lord, lived a good, decent life. She was heartbroken due to the fact that she mislaid her mom, and past precise soon after, possibly months, successful the aforesaid year, her sister, past she mislaid her brother," she continues, "She was devastated without her family, but the Lord gave her spot and she ever thought positive."

This weekend's occurrence marks the 3rd deadly location occurrence successful Porterville since December.

Fire Chief Bryan Cogburn says fatal location fires are typically uncommon but successful the past six months, they person claimed the lives of 9 people.

"Prior to our fatality occurrence successful December, it had been respective years since our past one. Three wrong six months is precise uncommon; the circumstances regarding the 3 are different, the causes are antithetic of the three."

The Porterville Fire Department says the origin of the occurrence is inactive nether investigation.

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