Man arrested for allegedly setting Richmond house fire that killed 2 relatives
Richmond police update on suspicious fire that killed adult, child
An adult and a child were killed in a suspicious house fire in Richmond on Tuesday night that left another adult and child severely injured. Police gave an update on the investigation around 12:30 p.m.
RICHMOND, Calif. - A 32-year-old man was arrested for allegedly setting a fire at his Richmond home, killing two of his relatives and severely injuring two more.
Richmond homes on fire
What we know:
Richmond Fire Department units were sent at about 8 p.m. Tuesday to the first home at 231 15th St. on reports of a fire.
Firefighters were able to get the first fire out in about 45 minutes. But while they were cleaning up, they noticed a fire at another house just one door down at 239 15th St. They quickly shifted their efforts to the second house.
Authorities found a family of four – two children and two adults – unconscious inside the second home.
One of the adults died at the scene, and one of the children died at a hospital. They were identified by police as a 5-year-old boy and a 47-year-old man, though their names were not released.
The exact nature of their injuries were not known, though RPD Lt. Joseph England at a Wednesday press conference said "they did pass away because of the fire."
He added there was no evidence of a stabbing or of a shooting at the scene.
The other two victims – a 33-year-old woman and a 2-year-old girl – were hospitalized in critical condition.
Richmond Police Chief Timothy Simmons (right) and another officer, who is holding a photo of Sergio Rivera Vega, the suspect in a deadly fire that occurred in a Richmond neighborhood on Aug. 18, 2026.
Suspect arrested
Dig deeper:
While investigating the fires, authorities identified 32-year-old Sergio Rivera Vega as the suspect who allegedly intentionally set the blaze at the second home, and also discovered he was a relative who lived at the home with the victims.
Suspect is family member of victims
The backstory:
Police identified the two children as his niece and nephew, while the injured woman was his sister and the dead man was Vega's father.
"As our detectives were on scene, one of our detectives saw the suspect standing behind our yellow tape, at the scene," England said.
Vega was arrested and booked into jail on two counts of murder and two counts of arson causing injury, and his bail was set at $2.5 million.
The RPD said no other suspects were believed to be involved in the fire at the second home. England said detectives are looking into any previous calls that may have been placed at the home in order to establish a possible motive for the alleged arson.
Police said the two fires were unrelated to one another, though added the first fire is also being treated as an arson investigation.
No injuries were reported in the first fire.
The Source: Richmond Fire Department, Richmond Police Department