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Wednesday's Internet Edition, October 08, 2008.
Warehouse fire in Galt claims two lives
Baby and mother perish, two seriously injured
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By 8 a.m. Tuesday morning, all that remained of a silk flower arrangement warehouse located in south Galt, and two young lives, was a smoldering mess of smoke and ash.
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By Rachael Ackerman
Herald Editor
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Emergency and fire rescue crews from seven separate fire companies responded to a two-alarm fire early on Tuesday morning, only to discover a warehouse in south Galt completely engulfed in flames, and several men at the scene who said there were still people inside.
Fueled by a variety of plastics and other materials used to create plastic and silk flower arrangements, the fire in the 1000 block of South Lincoln Way quickly consumed the warehouse and surrounding work areas, apparently trapping two victims who were sleeping in the warehouse structure.
Firefighters mounted a rescue operation, but the victims were already deceased.
While the Sacramento County Coroner has not officially released the identity of the two victims, family members who arrived at the scene all day Tuesday said they were certain of the identity of the woman and small child removed from the charred warehouse late Tuesday afternoon.
According to family, 19-year-old Maria Hernandez and her two-year-old daughter Jacqueline Hernandez both died in the Tuesday morning blaze. Jacqueline had just turned two in July.
According to family, initial coroner’s examination of the victims indicates they likely suffocated from smoke inhalation, which family said was good news.
Five others, who were also sleeping or preparing flower arrangements for the Tuesday Galt Market, escaped the blaze, although two males suffered serious injury. Investigators said seven people were sleeping in the warehouse, although it was not suitable for residential use. Another person was sleeping in an adjacent trailer when the fire started.
According to the Cosumnes Community Services District, the cause of the blaze is still under investigation. CCSD reported there were no smoke detectors in the metal-walled warehouse, and that there may have been a delay in reporting the fire. Units and personnel from a number of agencies, including Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, the Herald Fire Department, Woodbridge Fire District, Wilton Fire District, Walnut Grove Fire District, and the Sacramento City Fire Department aided CCSD.
A Sacramento HAZMAT unit was called to the scene early Tuesday morning and reported they did not see anything toxic at the scene.
Units were dispatched to the fire at 12:35 a.m., and arrived in less than four minutes. Fire battalion chief and fighters stationed in Galt were among the first to arrive.
“Our firefighters are doing a great job with one of the harder calls we have to handle,” said Battalion Chief Peter Sakaris. “This ranks up there with the worst of them.”
Jesse Hernandez, father and grandfather of the victims, was emotionally devastated on Tuesday afternoon at the scene of the fire, reaching out to touch the coroner’s vans as they passed by him with the remains of his daughter and granddaughter on board.
Hernandez, who has already lost his wife, said he doesn’t feel like the fire was an accident.
“I think this is something someone did on purpose, and I want the police and firefighters to find out,” said Hernandez.
When asked why he believed the fire to be intentional, he explained that he had recently fired two individuals who left on very angry terms.
“It is just too much to talk about right now,” said Hernandez. “They were both so beautiful and happy all of the time.”
Jose Jiminez, uncle to Maria, said through tears that his emotions were impossible to express.
“They were just good hard-working people,” said Jiminez. “Maria’s husband, Jacqueline’s father, doesn’t even know about it yet.”
Husband and father of the pair, Manuel Gonzalez, is currently being detained by immigration in Arizona. According to Minerva Jiminez, aunt to Maria, Homeland Security administrators are willing to release Gonzalez to return to the area to lay his family to rest, but only if the family can post a $5,000 bond prior to his release.
The family is asking for support in returning Gonzalez to the area to make funeral arrangements and to say goodbye to his wife and daughter. Anyone interested in assisting the family is asked to call Minerva at (209) 570-8529, or send a contribution to the Hernandez burial fund at 707 Golden Avenue in Lodi, 95240.
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