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Highlands Today

Family Needs Help

Gary Pinnell/Highlands Today

Neighbors comfort Sonia Vasquez, whose home at 1610 Rainbow Ave. burned Saturday afternoon.

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By GARY PINNELL

Highlands Today

Published: December 3, 2008

SEBRING - A family of five, burned out of its house Saturday afternoon, needs help furnishing a new home.

While Albert Delarosa, Sonia Vasquez, and their three children were at Wal-Mart, a wire shorted behind the stove in their house at 1610 Rainbow Ave.

"We think it was accidental electrical," said Sebring Fire Chief Brad Batz, who consulted with Pinellas County fire experts. The local fire marshal investigator was in Hardee County at the time, working on an arson and homicide, Batz said.

He came to the same conclusion about a second fire at 1430 Rainbow, which happened three hours later. It appeared someone in the Hilario household left the heat going under a pot on the stove, the fire chief said. Investigators found a knob on and the contents of the pot were burned.

On Tuesday, the Delarosa home was still behind yellow tape, "Fire Line, Do Not Cross."

Albert Delarosa, an unemployed handyman, was at his new two-bedroom, one-bath house, 4716 Minerva, fixing a toilet.

"They need some help," said Art Harriman, director for the Highlands County service center of the American Red Cross. "Their landlord got them into another house, so they've got that, but they need some furniture."

The Salvation Army had given the family a love seat, which was on the front porch Tuesday morning. Clothing was stacked on the floors inside the home. Delarosa, who speaks no English, pointed out that a couch was still needed. They have no TV.

Adrian, 7, and Daxana, 6, have well-used, full-sized mattresses, but no box springs and no frames to lift the beds off the cold floors. It's the same in the parents' room: a king-sized mattress, but no box springs and no frame. Both bedrooms are small, a dresser would take up too much space, but they need chests of drawers.

The 11-month-old baby, Xanelys, has a crib in her parents' master bedroom. The adjoining kitchen and dining room is small, but the family needs a dinette set for four, and a high chair. They have washer and dryer hookups, but no appliances.

"We put them up in the Kenilworth for two days," Harriman said. The landlord gave them immediate use of the Minerva house, but water and electricity weren't turned on until Monday.

Batz said the small, three-bedroom, wood-frame house at the corner or Rainbow and Warfield would likely be a total loss.

For more information, or to donate, call Art Harriman at 386-4440.

Gary Pinnell can be reached at gpinnell@highlandstoday.com or 863 386-5828

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