Human Remains Found After Fire Rips Through Mathewson Department Store

PHOTO: Firefighters on scene of the deadly blaze in Banning. COURTESY: Julia Olsen-Rodriguez

An early morning fire at one of Banning’s most recognizable buildings ended in the death of one person, fire officials report.

The fire was reported at 5:27 a.m. at the old Mathewson Department Store at 260 West Ramsey Street, according to Jennifer Fuhrman of the Riverside County Fire Department.

Banning Police Det. Mike Bennett said that the burnt remains of a person were found once the fire was out.

Authorities couldn’t tell what the gender of the victim was, but Bennett said the building was a site where transients often entered to seek shelter from the cold. A cause behind the fire wouldn’t be known for a couple of weeks as Cal Fire officials continue their investigation, Bennett said.

Flames tore through the building and destroyed it. Bennett said the building was boarded up and had been vacant for several years.

The store closed in March 2011 and the former owner, longtime Pass resident Amos ‘Bud’ Mathewson, died two months later in May.

— City News Service contributed to this report.