Victims identified after fatal fire at adult-care facility in Temecula
The Riverside County Coroner’s Office has identified four of the five victims who died in a suspicious fire that severely damaged an adult-care facility for developmentally disabled adults in Temecula on Monday.
The dead were identified as James Jennex, 50; Milford Battison, 37; Richard Driskill, 37; and Jared Prudhomme, 26. A fifth victim was not named pending notification of family.
All five were residents of the facility known as the Renee Jennex Small Family Home on Cruz Way, according to state records.
Police and fire officials are still trying to determine how the fire started as well as the cause of deaths of the victims.
Riverside County firefighters rushed to the property — just outside Temecula’s city limits — about 5 a.m. Monday, and spent the next hour battling the blaze.
As the flames waned, firefighters discovered one set of human remains. Sheriff’s department investigators were called in, and four other sets of adult remains were found, officials said Tuesday.
The property had been licensed to care for four developmentally disabled people since 2003, according to California Department of Social Services records. The facility was inspected in 2011, 2012 and most recently, in November. Records show “no deficiencies were observed” at the time.
According to the most recent inspection report, the facility was outfitted with smoke detectors and was conducting monthly disaster drills with its patients.
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