Wash. Great-Grandmother Loses Home, Saves Grand Kids

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Dec. 05--PASCO -- A Pasco family lost everything in a fire that left their mobile home a scorched shell.

Herlinda Guerrero was in the kitchen of her home at 127 Diamond Drive when she noticed a fire on the floor near a couch Sunday night.

She wasn't able to put it out, so she got her three great-grandchildren, Derick Jackson, 5, Devonte Jackson, 4, and Maliah Jackson, 2; and her grandson Brandon Treadaway, 13, out of the mobile home, said Christian Valdivia of Kennewick, Guerrero's grandson.

The children were scared and didn't have shoes on, he said.

Guerrero tried to call 911, but Valdivia said the dispatcher couldn't understand her. So Brandon called to report the fire at the Flamingo Village Mobile Home Park.

Capt. Dave Hare of the Pasco Fire Department said firefighters arrived about five minutes after receiving the call at 5:27 p.m.

The front of the mobile home was on fire when Pasco Police arrived, he said. Firefighters beat down the fire using water before sending teams into the home.

When firefighters removed the white front door, which was charred in the corner, the flames seemed to leap back up.

Neighbors watched as the firefighters knocked the fire down and removed almost unrecognizable bits of furniture from the home, including a coach that was now only a metal frame.

Among those watching was Hector Jimenez, 14, who said he ran toward the mobile home when he heard a loud crash and saw the fire.

It took 21 firefighters about 40 minutes to get the fire stabilized, Hare said. The inside of the single-wide mobile home was completely gutted.

Kennewick Fire Department and Franklin Fire District 3 also responded to the fire. Hare said the Auto Aid program helped get a full crew to the fire faster.

About one-third of Pasco's response was on another call when the report of the fire came in, Hare said. With Auto Aid, units from other fire departments and districts nearby were automatically requested. It made the response more efficient than it would have been before the program started about 18 months ago.

The fire still is under investigation, and the cause has not yet been determined, Hare said. No one was injured.

The home was valued at about $4,500, according to Franklin County records.

The family did not have a place to stay immediately after the fire, but the Benton-Franklin Chapter of the American Red Cross had been called.

Guerrero owned the mobile home and leased the lot where she had lived for at least a decade. She said in Spanish that she did not have insurance.

Derick, Devonte and Maliah's mother, Linda Montes, also live with Guerrero, but Montes and Brandon's brother, Blake Treadaway, 15, weren't home when the fire started.

Any help, or prayers, would be greatly appreciated, Guerrero said.

To help the family, email Christian Valdivia at [email protected].