NEW YORK — Five members of a Guatemalan family, including those two children, died Saturday during a raging home fire in Spring Valley, New York. In his memory, the community came together on Sunday with candles, flowers, praise and prayers in a vigil in his memory and to raise funds to help people who were injured.
Community members began making donations from their vehicles Sunday morning as dozens of family and friends poured into the residence located at 118 Lake streetto accompany the mourners and those affected by the fire that occurred on Saturday at 4:00 am and destroyed the house where two families lived.
According to authorities, firefighters rushed to the split-level home, but the heavy fire had already covered much of the structure. That prevented first responders from initially accessing the residence where several people were trapped inside, Rockland County Executive Ed Day explained. in a briefing.
It wasn’t until around 5:00 am that firefighters were able to control the huge flames and begin search and rescue. Once inside, teams found three people on the second floor and two others on the first floor, possibly fallen from a partial collapse during the fire.
A cousin of one of the victims said a father managed to get his wife and daughter out of the burning house, but was unable to get out in time.
“He lost his life trying to save his son. His son was four years old,” the cousin said. “He was a hero. He saved his wife and his baby.”
The relatives of the five fatalities, the youngest was only 4 years old according to the family, want to transfer the bodies to Guatemala.
In addition, five other people suffered injuries including a firefighter and one who jumped out of a window in desperation. The Red Cross, for its part, reported some 10 people who were displaced and the organization will provide them with emergency financial assistance.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire.