WEST VALLEY CITY ā Heartbreak and devastation for a West Valley family who lost everything in a fast-moving house fire. It happened Sunday afternoon at 6935 W. 3710 South.
KSL-TV was there late Monday afternoon as the family members walked through their charred home for the first time since it caught fire.
“Everything is gone,” said an emotional Yosi Carraso, 17, who is one of three children in the family. “We can’t go back to our house. There is nothing for us.”
She hugged her mom, Nidia Carraso, and cried.
“My parents work hard, and they try to give us the best in life, and it’s all gone,” Yosi Carraso said. “All their hard work, all their hard money, everything they put into the house, everything we had saved.”
It was Sunday afternoon, about 1 p.m., when Yosi and her mother were in the kitchen and noticed thick, heavy smoke coming from the side of the house.
“When I opened the (outside door), the flames were already here, so they came in fast,” said Nidia Carraso.
Within seconds, the home went up in flames. Yosi’s dad was downstairs taking a nap, and Nidia Carraso ran down to wake him up and get the other two kids out of the house.
“The house is on fire, guys, the house is on fire, let’s get out,” Nidia Carraso said she screamed.
Fortunately, the family of five all made it out alive, but they only had the clothes on their back. Everything else was destroyed.
“Just grateful with God my kids are out … We didn’t lose anybody,” said Nidia Carraso. “I just feel devastated. We were here almost seven years. Seven years of your life up in flames within seconds. It’s gone.”
She said the family will have to “start from scratch and build up from the bottom again.”
Investigators said the fire started inside a back shed next to the garage. They are still trying to figure out what set it off.
For those wanting to help the family, friends have set up a GoFundMe* account to help the family rebuild.
*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.