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Friday, July 30, 2010 | Serving Del Rio and Val Verde County: Since 1929
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Fire guts home
Published January 2, 2008
A man was taken to the hospital Tuesday after his home burned to the ground.
Though it was not believed Santos Flores, who is in his 60s, was seriously injured, firefighters opted to have the man transported to Val Verde Regional Medical Center via ambulance for evaluation.
“We need to get him down there and have him evaluated … it’s better to be safe that sorry. He’s had enough loss for one day,” said Val Verde County Rural Volunteer Fire Department Lt. Carl Riordan.
Riordan was one of the first firefighters to arrive at the home located at the rear of 510 Jeffery Drive in Val Verde Park Estates, east of Del Rio. Another home on the property, where Flores’ sister lives, was not damaged.
Residents and neighbors quickly rushed to the home and began fighting the blaze, which firefighters said could be seen from town, with water hoses.
As flames shot into the air occasionally pushing back the men with water hoses, bystanders and a Val Verde Sheriff’s Office deputy began pushing vehicles from the fire’s path.
As the wail of sirens from fire engines became audible in the distance, a loud explosion burst from under what was once the home’s porch, provoking sobs from Flores’ sister who was sitting on the steps of her own home.
When firefighters arrived, they were met with a home fully engulfed in flame and beginning to fall to the ground.
While one fire crew positioned on the property and began shooting water into Flores’ home – a small travel-style trailer enclosed in a frame of siding with a tin roof – another pulled in behind the home from the opposite direction to protect a trailer home mere feet away.
The cause of the fire, originally discovered by Flores who was working in the yard, was unclear.
After the fire was extinguished around 11:30 a.m., Riordan said the priority was making sure Flores was okay.
Riordan voiced concern that Flores may have suffered carbon monoxide exposure, which could affect any preexisting conditions he may already have.
Arturo Yañez, Flores’ nephew, said this morning his uncle is still in the hospital for observation and treatment.
Yañez, said his uncle had been working on building the home piece by piece over several years, adding that the family does not maintain insurance on the property.
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