A family was left with nothing after a fire occurred this Tuesday in Paramount.
The Palencia family lost their belongings and merchandise that they sell at area swap meets.
The fire destroyed the property in which they had lived for some 16 years, and all their belongings and merchandise are piled up on the outskirts of the home.
The family said that 90% of what is in that pile is merchandise that they sell at swap meets for a living.
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The family expects to sell again at the Cypress and Paramount swap meets in a few more weeks, but they know it will be difficult because they don't have the funds to buy materials.
The smoke could be seen from a distance, as neighbors helped the mother who was inside the Paramount home with her two children.
“I wanted to turn off the fire but it all went away very quickly,” said Verónica Molina, the mother of the family. "The neighbors helped me, it was like a dream, everything happened very fast."
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The three people escaped from the Somerset Street home on Tuesday, including the family dog.
“Nothing happened to the family. We all got out safely," Molina said. But "morally I feel depressed, it was my house for 16 years" and she added that "financially we are broke."
Everything was destroyed for this family of six.
“We have no merchandise to work with. We don't know what we're going to do anymore,” said Jorge Palencia, one of the 17-year-old sons, a student at Paramount High.
But Palencia did not sit idly by and it occurred to him to ask for donations on an internet page.
“We always give and it's rare that we have to ask,” said Jorge.
The cause of the fire is currently unknown. Some told Molina that they heard fireworks before the incident.
Some neighbors are helping with food for the family left with nothing.
The family assures that they have enough funds for 15 days, since the savings they had also ended up in the ashes. “As I told you, the savings we had…the money was burned," Molina said.
The fire also affected a nearby bakery, it is unknown when they will be able to open their doors.
This family dreams of returning to the same home they have rented for years and going back to work as soon as possible.
