An early morning multi-alarm fire in Escalon remains under investigation; the Sunday, Jan. 23 fire resulted in one fatality.

Escalon Fire Department Battalion Chief Dan Morriss said the call came in just after 2 a.m. Sunday morning, in the 22000 block of Sexton.

“Neighbors heard a loud explosion and called 9-1-1,” Morriss explained. “The house was fully involved when crews arrived on scene.”

Escalon was dispatched and called in mutual aid from both Ripon and Salida fire departments. The single family, single story home was roughly 1100 square feet, said Morriss, and was near the intersection of Sexton and River roads.

There was one resident of the home that got out of the house at the time of the fire, Morriss said, while another did not and was declared deceased.

Chief Investigator Christy Patterson with the San Joaquin County Coroner’s Office (a division of the Sheriff’s Department) on Thursday, Jan. 27 said the victim had been identified as Cirilo Torres Aguilar, an 81-year-old man, from Escalon.

Escalon firefighter Ryan Burr is heading up the investigation into the cause of the fire, Morriss said.

Because of the early morning hour and the presence of fog, officials said smoke from the home may not have been noticed by any motorists in the area. It wasn’t until the surrounding residents heard the explosion that emergency responders were notified.

The last Escalon crews to clear the scene didn’t leave until about 3:30 p.m. Sunday, said Morriss.