A fire in dry weeds in the 1800 block of West Yosemite Avenue threatened a home and an adjacent mobile home at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Heavy smoke was blowing into traffic across Yosemite Avenue at Fishback Road as the first Manteca Fire unit arrived on the scene. Flames 12 to 15 feet high could be seen near the rear of the occupied home before it was brought under control.

A man living at the residence said he wasn’t aware of the fire until a neighbor knocked on his window and told him to get out.  He said he was working on a music production and had a head set on at the time.

Minutes later another resident was seen darting through the heavy smoke in a frenzy searching for one of the family’s six dogs that had been living on the property. Clutching his chest, apparently suffering from smoke inhalation, he did locate the animal that was rescued with the others and put into a family vehicle where they were kept with the air conditioner running.  In short order he was taken into the emergency room at the nearby Kaiser Hospital after staffers recognized he was in need of oxygen.

The first to arrive on the scene driving into the smoke that was flooding into Yosemite Avenue traffic was Manteca Tow Company owner Dennis King.  King took it upon his self to activate the emergency lights on his tow truck to direct traffic.  He was on the scene for about an hour witnessing the fire jump over Yosemite Avenue and ignite a field of weeds on the south side of the roadway.

Manteca Police Captain Charlie Goeken arrived on the scene with three officers to assist in directing traffic.