April 01--ODESSA, Texas -- Four teenagers were walking down the 1500 block of East 42nd Street Saturday afternoon when they noticed that someone might have been barbecuing across the street.
But when the smoke grew darker and rose too high, Jimmy Reed, 13, called 9-1-1 at 3:26 p.m. in reference to the duplex of 1512 and 1514 E. 42nd St., where Battalion Chief Kevin Doan would later deem the residences uninhabitable because of smoke and fire damage. The fire displaced 10 residents.
"We crossed the street (42nd) and saw smoke coming out from the roof and windows," Corey Salter, 13, said.
Jimmy, Corey, Devon Gibson, 16, and Raul Ledesma, 17, said they were hanging out and walking when they noticed the smoke.
Doan said the cause of the fire was under investigation. He said that because there wasn't much space between the ceiling and the roof, the fire had burned hot enough to create holes in each of the residence's roofs.
At around the same time Jimmy Reed was calling 9-1-1, Chris Lara noticed smoke rising while he was pumping gas at Lowe's, 1107 E. 42nd St., near the area where his sister, Amanda Lara, lived.
"I drove over here to see what happened and when I got there and I saw the smoke. I banged on the door (of 1514 42nd St.). It looked like it started at the neighbor's house and spread to my sister's house. My sister wasn't home at the time," Chris Lara said.
Doan said where the fire began was undetermined.
Amanda Lara and her two children, 9-year-old Jonathan Lara and 7-year-old Zachary Lara, and Gineva Ybarra and her two children, 11-year-old Chris Williams and 10-year-old Aryiah Williams, all lived in 1512 42nd St.
Inside 1514, Bobbie Horn, Tommy Chee and Travis Smith were unaware there was a fire in their home.
"We were in our room watching TV when someone banged on our door," Horn said. "There wasn't any smoke in our room and we didn't even know anything was going on.
"After I answered the front door, I saw smoke near the back door, opened it and saw flames and smoke swoosh in," Horn said.
The fourth resident of 1514, Doris Brown, was at work cooking at Jalisco's Cafe, 350 N. FM 1936. She said she came home as soon as she found out there had been a fire.
"I'm still shaking. I don't know what happened," she said.
Odessa Fire/Rescue contacted the Red Cross to assist the families.
Kay Slaughter, a property manager with TLC Property Management, said she doesn't have any properties available to place either family.
"I've got 98 properties and none of them are empty," Slaughter said. "After I knew they were out OK, I wanted to make sure they have somewhere to live. I know the (OF/R) contacted the Red Cross. We don't want any of our tenants living out on the street."
Upon returning to the residence, Amanda Lara was concerned about Kai, a husky puppy, being trapped in the home while smoke continued to press its way out of the home.
Amanda Lara was stopped by firefighters and officers from entering the smoldering building.
Ybarra said they had just left their home 15 minutes before they were told their home was on fire.
Jimmy Reed, Corey Salter, Devon Gibson and Raul Ledesma chased Kiko, a 7-year-old male Shih Tzu also belonging to the household, and found him in the alley behind the home.
After an hour of uncertainty, a firefighter found Kai safely and gave him to Amanda Lara.
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Copyright 2012 - Odessa American, Texas
