3 Killed In 3 Separate Fires Over Christmas

HOUSTON, TX — Houston Firefighters had their hands full this Christmas season, battling three house fires that claimed three lives in 24 hours. The first of those fatal fires was reported at about 8 a.m. Christmas Eve at the Country Club Village Apartments in the 7000 block of South Gessner Road.

When firefighters arrived, they found three buildings fully engulfed and residents scrambling to rescue families who were trapped.

Stephanie Molina and three of her four children were able to escape the fire, but 10-year-old Angel Molina was trapped inside.

Houston firefighters are responding to a 2-11 Fire in the 7000 block of South Gessner Rd. Please avoid the area.
— Houston Fire Dept (@HoustonFire) December 24, 2018

FATHER OF THE VICTIM WAS ALSO TRANSPORT WITH BURNS IN BOTH ARMS
30 HFD UNITS WERE UTILIZED TO CONTAIN AND CONTROL THIS FIRE WITH A TOTAL OF 100 FIREFIGHTERS pic.twitter.com/gIXxBnch7i
— Houston Fire Dept (@HoustonFire) December 25, 2018

Officials said Pedro Guerra ran in and tried to pull his son to safety and was severely burned on his left side. Firefighters pulled Guerra and his son from the fire, but the boy died from smoke inhalation. Guerra is in ICU at Memorial Hermann Hospital.

One Houston Firefighter was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for smoke inhalation, officials said.

Officials from the American Red Cross assisted 20 families displaced by the apartment fire.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Later that same day, fire erupted at a home in the 12000 block of Millbanks Drive. Neighbors reported seeing smoke and immediately called firefighters.

Neighbors beat on the doors and windows to try and rescue the 68-year-old man inside, but he never responded.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze and found the man dead inside from smoke inhalation. Officials said the man accidentally started the fire in his kitchen and died trying to fight the fire.

On Christmas morning, an 83-year-old woman was pulled from her burning home by an off-duty Houston Firefighter, but was pronounced dead at an area hospital from smoke inhalation.

Some sad news on Christmas morning. HFD responded to a house fire on Sagerock where an off-duty firefighter was trying to help an elderly female found unconscious in the home. Firefighters pulled her out and she was transported to the hospital where she died a short time later.
— Sheldra Brigham (@SheldraBrigham) December 25, 2018

The fire was reported at about 7 a.m. in the 10300 block of Sagerock Drive in southeast Houston.
Officials said Capt. Art de la Garza saw the fire, and ran into the home where he found Patricia Arp laying on the floor at the foot of her stairs.

Investigators believe the fire started in the kitchen.

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