MIAMI – A family in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood is trying to rebuild after a devastating house fire on Christmas Eve.
Seventeen-year-old Helena Martinez showed Local 10 News the memories on the family refrigerator, now covered with soot and warped by heat.
“This is basically all destroyed,” she said. “All ashes.”
Pictures and drawings are among the remnants after a fire tore through their home in the 2900 block of South Federal Highway.
“It was fast, it was quick,” Martinez said.
At around 4 p.m. Tuesday, Martinez was home with her younger siblings, aged 3 and 8.
They were all napping when she woke up to prepare for Nochebuena. That’s when she noticed the smoke.
“Flames were coming from that corner and I saw the entire house in smoke. At that time it was light, but when I grabbed the kids and came back, it was already heavy,” she said.
She quickly ran out of the house, carrying her siblings in her arms.
Martinez said she used Siri to call 911, and soon Miami firefighters arrived at the home to find flames and smoke.
“There was a lot of smoke coming from the living room,” said Martinez’s uncle, José Davila, who also lives in the home.
The duplex housed six adults and five children from the same family.
“This is where I have most of my memories,” Martinez said. “My sister, when she was born, she came into this house. I saw her take her first steps here. And my brother has Down syndrome, and before we moved here he couldn’t walk, but in this big space, he had the ability to start exploring and walking.
“So I have a lot of memories that I’m losing.”
Despite the loss, the family feels blessed. Davila’s church took them in for Christmas Eve, and firefighters managed to save their Christmas presents.
Nearby Casola’s Pizzeria provided them with food for a Christmas meal.
“We didn’t let this ruin Christmas,” Martinez said.
The American Red Cross has provided the family with funds for a hotel for the next few days, but they are now concerned about long-term housing for their large family.
“If it’s where we can be all together, it’s OK, but if we have to split, it’s OK also. The key is for the kids to be in a safe place,” Davila said.
Family members have started a GoFundMe page to help pay for expenses.