‘They were so happy.’ Grieving family speaks out after 5 – including 3 kids – die in fire
Mayra Macias didn’t hesitate as flames raced through her brother’s Dos Palos-area home early Thursday morning.
She said she told 911 dispatchers she was going inside the burning house to get her family out.
“Everything happened so fast,” said Macias in Spanish in an interview on Friday morning. Her hands were wrapped in bandages from the fire.
“I know I was risking my life. It’s my family. That’s how you act to save your loved ones.”
Macias and others managed to pull their loved ones from the burning house with the fire department’s help, but it was already too late.
Her older brother, his wife, and three children died in Thursday’s tragic house fire in rural Merced County.
Merced County Cal Fire Division Chief Mark Pimentel confirmed there were no significant burns on the victims and there were no signs of foul play or arson. The Merced County Sheriff’s Office is also investigating the house fire.
On Friday, shell-shocked relatives began picking up the pieces as friends and neighbors from the Dos Palos community rallied around the grieving family.
‘They were so happy’
Macias said five people lived in the house that caught fire: her brother, Ruben Andrade, 41, and his wife, Juana Yanez, 35, and their three children, 1-year-old Hector Andrade, 4-year-old Judith Andrade, and 11-year-old Christopher Andrade.
Macias, 36, lived next door with and her husband and parents. The two homes shared the same address on the rural plot at Julip Avenue, north of Mint Road.
Originally from the Mexican city of Nochistlán, Zacatecas, Andrade worked for years in the local cotton industry. Last month, he found a new job in irrigation that he was excited to start, said Macias.
Family and community members describe Andrade and his family as happy people that were very involved in their church community.
Andrade and his wife, Yanez, were preparing to baptize their 1-year-old son Hector at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Dos Palos.
“My brother loved his kids,” Macias said Friday while fighting back tears.
Macias describes her sister-in-law, Yanez, as a stay-at-home mother who was generous with anyone who needed help. Christopher, 11, was in school and had recently started serving as an altar boy in church.
“They were so happy,” she said of Andrade and Yanez. “The children, too.”
GoFundMe to support family, funeral expenses
On Thursday evening, Sacred Heart Catholic Church organized a candlelight vigil for the family.
The Rev. Anthony Iromenu said he and the church community are doing everything they can to support the family in the grieving process and discuss funeral and burial arrangements.
Kassandra Andrade, a cousin of the family, created a GoFundMe page to help the family. In less than 24 hours, the page has raised over $22,752.
The family said they plan to use the funds for the funeral arrangements for the five family members.
“Para que descansen en paz,” said Macias. “So they can rest in peace.”
