Boyle Heights family mourns family member after fire destroys century-old home

A mourning Boyle Heights family says farewell to their home of 60 years after the dwelling went up in flames, destroying everything inside.

Five people were inside the Flores-Briseño family home at the time of the fire. Family members say the head of their household died trying to escape the flames.

“It hurts a lot because it was so beautiful,” family member Patricia Jauregui said. “It looks like everyone is going to have to say goodbye.”

The century-old house on Boyle Avenue and Whittier Boulevard has been in the Flores-Briseño family for 60 years. 

“Weddings happened here, birthdays happened here, and my mom had her wedding picture in the front of this house,” Jauregui said. 

Neighbors quickly rushed to the home to help its inhabitants escape at the time of the fire — including Jauregui’s elderly aunt. 

“To think that my aunt would not have survived if she didn’t get taken out, gives you faith in our community, our gente,” Jauregui said. 

But another one of Jauregui’s aunts did not survive. LA Fire said when firefighters arrived at the scene, they found one woman on the front porch who did not survive, Jauregui’s aunt Ines. 

“She was this really loud, happy woman and had an incredible laughter and big hugs, and always with her mandil (apron),” Jauregui said. 

Now the Flores-Briseño family is facing multiple challenges as they prepare to say their final goodbye to their family monarch and protect their home from looters while readjusting their lives to help those who survived the fire. 

“My aunt is elderly and is going to need care, my uncle has advanced dementia, she was their caregiver,” Jauregui said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but there was no evidence of smoke detectors, according to LA Fire.