Donations sought for 8-year-old victim of recent residential fire
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
Published: December 07, 2012
All Jennifer wants for Christmas are some outfits that don’t smell like smoke, sheets that are fresh and other things an 8-year-old who lost many of possessions in a recent fire might need.
Donations for Jennifer are being accepted at the Santa Paula Times, 944 E. Main Street.
The family was displaced after the November 17 incident in the 400 Mobile Estates Park, when a vehicle parked in the carport of their singlewide mobile home caught fire and the flames spread to the living unit. According to Santa Paula Fire Captain Milo Bustillos, neighbors noticed the fire just before 4 a.m. and were able to get Jennifer, her mother and grandmother out of the burning mobile home located on the complex’s Sunny Street.
Bustillos said it is unknown why the vehicle caught fire - the car was destroyed - and the family was fortunate firefighters were able to knock the blaze down before it did more damage to the unit. As it was, the fire “burned into the kitchen and living room area of the residence” that did not have smoke detectors.
The family, he added, was alerted to the danger by “neighbors across the way.... They were lucky the neighbors woke them up and got them safely” out of the burning owner occupied unit.
The family reportedly stayed with relatives when they were first displaced. The mobile home has been repaired and it appears Jennifer, her mother and grandmother will be back home well before Christmas.
But Bustillos said there was a “significant amount of damage to personal items,” including kitchen appliances caught in the fire as well as other contents damaged by smoke. A 3rd grade student at Glen City Elementary School, Jennifer needs clothing and accessories. A tall youngster, she wears girls size 10/12.
Donations can be dropped off at the Santa Paula Times, 944 E. Main Street. For more information, call Diana Ramos at 525-1890 or 794-6533.
|
