Man found unresponsive in Carmel Valley home badly damaged by fire

An older man was found unresponsive and with minor injuries following a fire at a Carmel Valley home on Thursday evening.

The fire happened on Esquiline Road near Calle de los Helecho in Carmel Valley.

Crews were able to contain it quickly, but say there were a lot of accelerants inside the home which could have caused this fire to spread even quicker if they hadn’t gotten there in time.

Neighbors who witnessed everything unfold described a massive effort to try and help get the unresponsive man out of the house.

They also attempted to get his attention by throwing a microwave at the window of the home.

Neighbors were fearful not only of the condition of the man, who they and a caretaker confirmed to be a man in his 70s by the name of John Church, but also the spread of the fire.

“With all the redwoods here this could have immediately gone up in flames if it wasn’t controlled right away,” says Church’s neighbor, Rachel Frey.

As of now the fire is under investigation with the cause still unknown.

The man found in the home, who neighbors refer to as John Church, was transported to a local hospital.

Crews were able to put out the fire within thirty minutes. Monterey County Regional Fire says no firefighters were injured while battling the blaze.