Nearly a dozen people displaced after Watsonville structure fire

A Watsonville home was engulfed in flames early Thursday morning.

The fire broke out around 5:30 a.m. on Bright View Lane. Eight people were displaced, including two children. Everyone got out safely. The fire started in the town home’s garage and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Neighbors say when the fire was going on it sounded like gun shots were going off.

“It was insane!” neighbor Susan Minuth said. “I heard he had fire arms and gun powder in their so they were shooting out all over the place. I’m glad it didn’t hurt anyone.”

The homeowner is a gun collector and kept his guns and ammunition in the garage. The fire department says the ammunition that was not in the safe caught fire and shot out.

“It just kind of added to the fire load that was inside the garage that was on fire,” Watsonville Fire Captain Chris Kramer said. “It just kind of raises our awareness keeps us a little bit more on edge make sure we understand whats going on with our surroundings.”

Some firefighters were even struck by bullets, but because of their turnout gear they weren’t hurt at all. The fire department says as long as the ammunition isn’t going out of a barrel it’s not too dangerous.

In the fire, the garage and front of the house were damaged. The homeowners gun collection was destroyed, two motorcycles in the garage were melted and the families car out front was burnt.

“No injuries. One of the occupants in the house had left for work while the rest of the family was still inside,” Kramer said. “They were able to evacuate the home with no injuries.”

The structure is secured, but the homeowners won’t be able to stay in their home. The neighboring town house was not displaced.