A house fire Tuesday afternoon in Atascadero on Cristobal Avenue left a house full of antiques and memorabilia in ruins and the five people who lived there displaced.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation but the family says they believe it started on the outside of the home.
Three people were sent to the hospital, one with severe burn wounds and two with smoke inhalation.
“The house was just painted [red] for luck, which is ironic, but things happen," said Jared Roza, who lived at the home with his parents, sister and niece.
Collectibles, wedding gifts, and house plants passed down through generations have been turned into ash.
“It was hard to see that a lot didn't make it," a choked-up Roza said.
Roza says he rushed home from work after learning about the fire from his neighbor. His family members all made it out alive, although he says his father, Ray, suffered severe burn wounds trying to put out the fire and save his family.
In an attempt to rescue two of her cats still inside the house, Karley went into her bedroom where a family dog followed her inside. From her bedroom window she reportedly grabbed her orange tabby, Scrappy, by the tail and threw him outside. She then threw the family's German Shepherd out of the window before she herself was pulled out of the home by a stranger, Roza said. Karley's gray tabby, Luna, couldn't be rescued in time and died. Scrappy is now missing.
“I have chills," neighbor and GoFundMe creator Annette Stowe said. "It was devastating."
Stowe and her daughter watched the house go up in flames.
“I really want to encourage the community to step up and go, look at that GoFundMe and dig deep because this is a precious family and they need us right now," Stowe said. "They've done so much for everyone else. Now it's our turn.”
