A year later, fire victim’s family still haunted by tragic loss

Next week marks the somber one-year anniversary of an apartment fire that claimed the lives of a mother and her two daughters.

Relatives of the victims told ABC-7 they will hold a memorial Saturday, October 29, 2016 for Magaly, Andrea and Paulina Mendoza. The family will also host a fire safety awareness campaign.

A massive blaze ripped through an apartment on El Paso’s East Side the morning of November 2, 2015.

El Paso Fire Department Spokesman Carlos Briano confirms with ABC-7 the investigation concluded there was no evidence of a working smoke alarm in the apartment unit.

Fire investigators said 32-year-old Magaly Mendoza and her two daughters, 11-year-old Andrea and 4-year-old Paulina, died in the fire.

“We still remember everything as if it was yesterday,” said Magaly Mendoza’s younger sister, Karyna Mendoza.

Mendoza tells ABC-7 that it has been a tough year, emotionally, for the family.

“It’s really hard, especially because my sister was really close to us and was close to everyone in the family,” Karyna Mendoza said.

Loved ones remember the simple things they enjoyed when they were together as a family.

“With my sister, it was a conversation of ‘How are you doing?’ This and that .. kind of like a diary,” Karyna Mendoza said.

Family and friends will remember them at Saturday’s memorial. “In their honor, we want to help others,” Karyna Mendoza said.

The memorial will not only be dedicated to the victims but to fire safety awareness. “(We want) to show the kids the fire trucks and to talk about the rules and the safety of what to do in case of a fire,” Karyna Mendoza said.

Firefighters will talk to attendees about the importance of fire safety and how to map the exits in their homes.

“This can happen to any family, and we’re trying to avoid that from happening,” Karyna Mendoza said.

At the time of the fire, investigators told ABC-7 a skillet was left burning on the stove. The apartment manager at Las Casitas Apartments near McRae and I-10 told ABC-7 every apartment unit is equipped with a working smoke alarm inspected twice a year.

The memorial will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Park. A balloon launch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.