Authorities in Oxnard say an unattended candle ignited a deadly Christmas Day fire in an occupied converted garage.
Flames killed a man and badly burned his wife and two children.
Jorge Ramirez was at Torrance Medical Center where his 44-year-old mother and 7-year-old sister are sedated after surgeries for burns suffered in an inferno on Christmas Day.
Fire gutted their home, a converted garage on W. Guava Street in Oxnard.
Get Southern California news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC LA newsletters.
The fire killed Ramirez' 34-year-old stepfather and critically injured his 12-year-old brother.
The boy was rushed to County USC Medical Center.
Ramirez got news of the fire from a neighbor.
"He called me. The worst dramatic call I ever got in my life," Ramirez said. "He called me like around 3 a.m. and he's like 'hey you have to get to the house quick, the house is on fire.'"
Ramirez arrived to find emergency response and victim transports underway.
He shared images of his loved ones including his baby sister's birthday video.
He's even giving condition reports but not releasing names of the living or the dead.
"My mom just got out of durgery right now. Everything went well," Ramirez said. "My little sister is as we speak in surgery. My little brother, they're still working on him."
Ramirez tells us hi slate stepfather was a farm worker who worked the fields so his mom could stay home.
A fundraiser for the three survivors was launched by Ramirez' wife.
"She set that because in the future obviously surgeries and everything," Ramirez said. "We're going to need money. With that any donation would help and would mean a lot."
Ramirez says the fire destroyed everything in the garage, including unopened Christmas gifts he knew the children would love.
He's now focused on his loved ones. They will likely have months-long recoveries and he's hopeful his stepfather's employer can help.
