Woman’s body found after storage unit fire in west-central Fresno

A woman was found dead in a storage unit after it went up in flames, with Fresno arson investigators and police continuing to look into what happened in the early Sunday morning incident.

She was identified Monday by the Fresno County Coroner as Sarah Raper, 32, of Fresno.

Fire crews were called to the fire about 1 a.m. in the area of Parkway Drive and Belmont Avenue west of Highway 99, according to Deputy Fire Marshal Jay Tracy.

Crews gained control of the flames then found the woman’s body inside the container. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The woman’s identity was not available.

Investigators were working to confirm the cause of death and what the woman was doing there.

This story was originally published May 10, 2020 at 4:50 PM.