"The porch deck and majority of the structure was already having failure and completely involved in fire," said Fresno County Fire Battalion Chief Jeremiah Wittwer.
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Fire officials say a teenager managed to escape the fire, getting out through a window. But three other people who were inside died, including 42-year-old Cortney Ramirez.
Ramirez had worked for Selma Unified School District since 2006. She was a bus driver, and also a driver trainer and recruiter.
"Somebody pointed out, the weather today matches people's moods," said Selma Unified School District Assistant Superintendent Larry Teixeira says he knew Ramirez and appreciated her ability to have fun at work, while also taking her job very seriously.
He says she understood the major responsibility of transporting children to and from school and made sure other drivers did too. Ramirez's supervisor gave everyone the bad news Thursday morning.
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"Some of our drivers came in, and they were just so shaken up that (her supervisor) said you know you probably shouldn't be driving today, you're just not emotionally in a place where you can drive this 40 foot vehicle."
Teixeira says students on Ramirez's bus route were also shaken up. So were friends and family members, who did not want to speak to members of the media.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The other two victims have not yet been publicly identified by the Fresno County Coroner's Office.