House Fire In Montana Vista Displaces 3, Officials Give Fire Safety Tips

Fire crews battled big flames that displaced a family of three in Montana Vista Friday morning. It happened Bradley Road and Buffalo Creek Drive. A two story home was destroyed in the fire.

“A family of three lived there, the Gonzales family,” said Deputy Jesse Tovar, a spokesman with the El Paso Sheriff’s Department who was on the scene.

“They’re devastated,” said Tovar. “From what the family tells me, they were planning on selling the house for more than $200,000. The house is insured, but all their personal belongings are lost.”

That potential house sale went up in smoke when it caught fire at around 9:30 a.m. No one was inside at the time and there are no reports of any injuries following the fire.

Investigators are still trying to pinpoint what caused the fire.

“My mom called 911 as soon as she saw the flames,” said neighbor April Rodriguez. Rodriguez and others said it took fire crews between 15 and 30 minutes to respond to the call. “By that time, the whole top floor was already in flames,” she said.

Montana Vista Fire Rescue Captain James Younger said the response time did present a challenge for his volunteer department. “A lot of our members have jobs, they work during the day and aren’t able to get out of their jobs,” he said.

Younger said available firefighters got on the scene as soon as they could. Horizon City firefighters were also called out to help control the flames.

Dry, hot weather conditions combined with whipping spring winds also hampered firefighting efforts. “The wind spreads flames up to 10 times more rapidly than they would on a day with gentle breeze or no breeze at all,” said Younger.

He offered these fire safety tips so home owners can best prepare their homes in case of an emergency:

1. OBEY THE BURN BAN. El Paso is one of 146 Texas counties currently under a burn ban. 2. CLEAN UP YOUR YARD. Tall grass and dry brush are like fuel during a big fire. 3. DON’T FORGET LIT CANDLES. Always blow out candles before leaving the house.

“Anything that homeowners can do to make our job easier is much appreciated,” said Younger.