UPDATE: Account Set Up for Lower Valley Family Who Lost Home in Fire
An account has been set up to help the victims of a major house fire June 23 near Riverside High School, the Ysleta Independent School District announced Thursday.
No one was injured in the fire, however, the family pet was killed and the house was a total loss, including all contents in the house and two cars.
A 2009 Riverside High School graduate and a freshman and a junior at Riverside High School lived in the house on the 300 block of Jensen Avenue. An account was opened to assist the family. Donations can be made for the Hernandez family to Acct. No. 89078 at El Paso Teachers Credit Union.
The fire forced the evacuation of the neighborhood.
“My neighbor came to my house in the morning screaming that his house was on fire and for me to call 911,” Michael Carbajal, who lives next to the home, told ABC-7 the day of the fire.
Carbajal told ABC-7 he rushed out and began dousing the flames with a garden hose as flames shot up 20 feet into the air.
“You could feel the heat, it was strong. My face felt really hot. And the smoke was coming out through (the home) and I couldn’t breathe because the smoke was hitting me in the face,” he said.
With help from the TxDOT traffic camera network, ABC-7’s Good Morning El Paso was able to monitor the fire minutes before fire crews arrived at the scene.
Emergency radio transmissions indicate there was an adult and two children inside the house at the time, but they managed to get out without any injuries. The Red Cross arrived to assist them.
During the height of the blaze, firefighters evacuated surrounding homes in fear that the fire would spread. The traffic cameras caught explosions of power lines, possibly knocking out power to surrounding homes. A vehicle in front of the home also caught fire.
Fire crews managed to get the blaze under control shortly after 6 a.m.
“Sorry to see their house,” Carbajal said. “I even told them they’re welcome to stay at my house. I don’t know what they’re going to do right now.”
