Fire leaves families homeless

By Luis Ernesto Gomez/Staff Writer

Ten people left homeless Monday when their westside house burned are struggling to return to normal as they live temporarily in a motel.

The three families - six adults, three children and a teenager - had moved into the rented, four-bedroom home in the 1700 block of North De Joy Street less than two weeks earlier.

Feliciano Perdomo, 46, said he and his son Daniel, 22, have not been able to sleep well since the fire.

Both were inside the house around 8:50 a.m. Monday when flames broke out in a bedroom. Both tried to put out the fire with water but eventually gave up and evacuated.

“Almost out of impotence to extinguish the fire, I fell sick,” Perdomo, a native of Michoacan, said Wednesday in Spanish.

Perdomo was the only person taken to Marian Medical Center for treatment while Daniel, Mayra Guerrero, 22, and their 1-year-old child, Kimberly Guerrero, and 10-year-old John Villarreal escaped uninjured.

Firefighters have not confirmed the source of the fire, but Villarreal said a lamp exploded in the bedroom.

Daniel Perdomo said he was sleeping in his room when the 10-year-old Villarreal woke him up to alert him of the fire.

“When I woke up and went to the room it was too late,” Daniel Perdomo said in Spanish. Flames on the bed reached the roof and extended to the carpet, he added.

“When we saw that the house was completely in smoke, I grabbed the girl and got out,” Feliciano Perdomo said. “I wanted to go back inside to recover some of the money.”

Even though flames didn't burn the entire structure, the house and its contents, including appliances, clothes and cash, were considered lost.

Damage was estimated at $275,000, according to Santa Maria Fire Department Battalion Chief Jack Owen Jr.

Smoke damaged everything except a few clothes, a pair of shoes, some baby wipes in a plastic container and some jeans that still smell like smoke.

The American Red Cross has provided the family with lodging - a seven-day stay at Travelodge, 1514 S. Broadway - and about $400 in cash to each family.

Feliciano Perdomo said Wednesday that he was considered the head of the house in charge of paying the bills and keeping everyone together. He earns a small income selling fruit on East Main Street entering Santa Maria.

His wife, Veronica Cruz, 46, was also among the breadwinners.

Cruz worked with Graciela Villarreal, 26, and Freddy Ortega, 27, at a packing company in Guadalupe. The couple had moved in with their 10-month-old daughter, Leslie Ortega, and 10-year-old son John.

Daniel Perdomo and his wife are unemployed. Feliciano Perdomo's second son, Nestor Perdomo, 16, was at Pioneer Valley High School when the fire began.

Even with the wages they earn at the packing company, Cruz said, she doubts they will be able to pick themselves up. She said neither of them have immediate family living in Santa Maria to help them.

Right now they're relying mostly on donated goods, some from St. John Neumann Church, Feliciano said.

Wednesday, Cruz, Graciela Villarreal and Freddy Ortega returned to work while Feliciano Perdomo sold more oranges and grapes on Main.

Daniel Perdomo looked for clothes and work, even if it was just for a day.

KTAP's Radio Ranchito, 1600 AM, aired a short announcement asking listeners to make donations. Calls poured in for a while, but soon the cell phone died, Cruz said.

At the moment the families have no way of receiving donations and no bank account, and the American Red Cross cannot hold donations for them, an official said.

Feliciano Perdomo says he's waiting for the landowner to figure out whether the insurance company will compensate the renters for the losses.

He said they're exploring several options to find a place to stay, but if they run out of options, they'll consider going back to Mexico after living in the United States for four years.

“Maybe God wants us to leave just the way we arrived - empty handed,” he said.

Luis Ernesto Gomez can be reached at 739-2218, or lgomez@santamariatimes.com.

Nov. 23, 2006