Hollister
– Torn insulation, charred plywood and melted sheetrock sit
piled in the front yard of Oliverio Silva’s Hollister home.
Hollister – Torn insulation, charred plywood and melted sheetrock sit piled in the front yard of Oliverio Silva’s Hollister home.
An afternoon kitchen fire forced 11 members of the Silva family into a hotel Sunday. The blaze started when a pot on the kitchen stove ignited, sending flames into a microwave. The microwave ignited adjacent kitchen cabinets and eventually developed into a larger blaze, consuming most of the family’s kitchen and dining room, said Hollister Fire Department Captain Bob Del Campo, who responded to the fire.
“As soon as we got there we had flames anywhere from two to three feet coming from the cabinet area,” Del Campo said.
Damage to the house is estimated at $20,000, Del Campo said. The family does not know when they will be able to return home.
Thankfully for the Silvas, the Monterey-San Benito Counties American Red Cross chapter stepped in.
The Red Cross gave the Silva family $285 for food Sunday night and paid for a hotel room.
“Thus far we are helping them with shelter and food,” said Laura Kershner, public support director of Monterey-San Benito Counties American Red Cross chapter. “I understand they were able to retrieve clothing.”
Silva, a gardener, was in King City when the fire started. He received calls from his stepson and his wife, Rosa Silva.
The Hollister Fire Department responded to the blaze four to six minutes after the initial call and subdued the flames within 13 minutes, Del Campo said. Firefighters cut a hole in the roof of the house to ventilate smoke and gases.
Firefighters evacuated Rosa and nine children, the youngest of whom was 2 months old.
The Silvas’ 12-year-old daughter appeared to be suffering from smoke inhalation, but firefighters determined it was an anxiety attack from the stress of evacuating the house. No one was injured in the blaze, Del Campo said.
Silva said his insurance company, Farmer’s Insurance, will cover all damage and hotel costs for the family.
“It may be two or three days if it’s cleaned right away,” Silva said. “It’s not my decision.”
But the Red Cross is ready to provide any help needed to the family thanks to donations from the public.
“They are probably in a lot better situation than 80 to 90 percent of the people we help,” Kershner said.
Donations may be made to the chapter’s Local Disaster Relief Fund to help families like the Silvas by calling 636-2100 or by logging on to www.montereyarc.org
Michael van Cassell covers police and courts for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 637-5566, ext. 335.
