Thread: Fort Worth house fire kills one, injures two others

The importance of learning to speak English

by Shon Gables
WFAA
Posted on February 19, 2012 at 9:20 AM
Updated yesterday at 11:04 PM

FORT WORTH — One person died and two others were injured when fire swept a residence in the 1300 block of East Magnolia Avenue early Sunday.

As Fort Worth emergency personnel lifted a very tired and despondent Raul Truhillo aboard a gurney, neighbors watched in shock. Truhillo was covered with 2nd and 3rd degree burns to his hands, neck and face.

Neighbor James Castleberry said he's lucky to be alive. "I just hate it happened", he said.

Early Sunday morning, Truhillo and his son jumped from the 2nd floor window of their East Fort Worth home after it caught on fire.

Their neighbor, Edgar Franco spotted the flames around 5 a.m. He said the residents of the burning home had been using space heaters to stay warm.

"I tried to go knock on my friends on the windows," Franco said, still shaken by the fatal fire. "And then everybody started coming out."

One of Truhillo's roommates, who he tried to rescue, didn't make it out alive. Another jumped to safety.

But after suffering severe burns, Truhillo and his son took off on foot, desperately searching for medical aid.

Neither spoke English, nor knew to call 911. They walked for miles, returning to the scene almost five hours later — shirtless, cold, and fortunate to stumble across a Univision photographer, who immediately called for emergency aid.

Word of the disaster spread quickly to Lighthouse Church, less than 100 feet away from the charred home. Church member Andra Council called the photographer a hero.
"We've been praying for them through all our services today, and we just hope we find out what happened," she said. "The family is blessed."

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Damage was estimated at $20,000.
E-mail sgables@wfaa.com

Video at Link: Fort Worth house fire kills one, injures two others | wfaa.com Dallas - Fort Worth