VON ORMY, Texas — A fatal fire has sparked calls for change.
In February, three people were killed when massive flames engulfed a mobile home in the 100 block of Blue Lilly Drive in Von Ormy.
Vanessa Ortega, 39, died in the overnight fire, along with her grandchildren Mia Oyervides, 4, and Ezekiel Oyervides, 2.
“I am always crying,” said Vanessa’s mother, Esmeralda Zapata. “Somebody wake me up because this is just a dream. The holidays are coming and it’s going to be harder.”
The mobile home was burned to the ground. Given the extent of the damage, the Atascosa County Fire Marshal says they may never determine the cause.
“The neighbors told me that it took between 35 to 40 minutes [for fire crews] to get there,” Esmerelda said.
KENS 5 is working to independently confirm the response time.
However, Poteet firefighters responded to the call. The Jourdanton Volunteer Fire Department, Rossville Volunteer Fire Department and Bexar County Emergency Services District 5 assisted.
Esmeralda believes lives may have been saved if Von Ormy had its own fire station.
“By the time they got there, our children were gone,” she said. “So, we have been hurting a lot. I don’t get to see my daughter anymore, I don’t get to see my babies.”
“Every minute matters,” said Vanessa’s stepfather, Joe Zapata.
Esmeralda and Joe hope to prevent others from experiencing the same pain. The two are meeting with county leaders and fire officials to seek solutions.
“Because it could be another fire,” said Esmeralda. “It could be a bomb or a heart attack, some other tragedy. Who is going to answer then? We want to establish a fire station in Von Ormy to leave a legacy for our great grandchildren because we don’t want anyone else to die the way our family died.”
After this story aired, KENS 5 received new information from the Atascosa County Commissioner representing the precinct. Mark Gillespie says he also met with Mr. and Mrs. Zapata to explain the process.
“We had a nice conversation about what’s out in that area and what can possibly be done to [improve] the services, along with educating them on the fact that the county is not [in charge] of VFD’s as they are volunteers,” Gillespie said in an email. “There’s a protocol to get a fire station established. There would need to be a petition signed, with a particular number of names, and then [it would be] taken to a vote by the folks in that particular area.”
Gillespie says he assured the Zapata’s if they are willing to do the ground work on collecting signatures and support, he would be more than happy to conduct community meetings for people to learn more about their mission.
KENS 5 is following developments.