The fire started around 2:45 a.m. at a home on Warfield Way near Highway 101 and Tully Road, just southeast of Kelley Park. Firefighters are trying to determine if the smoke detector was working and what started the fire. Firefighters say the three-alarm fire started in the garage of a townhouse.
Seven people were inside when it erupted. The family says 51-year-old Khue Ton did not survive. "She worked very hard, hard worker and she had a good heart. She really cared for people. That's why I loved her so much. She's the one I loved best," Ton's sister-in-law Thao Do said. An ambulance took Khue's husband and their two boys to the hospital. The father is in critical condition and so is the youngest boy David who is 6 or 7-years-old. "He is alive at the hospital, so the paramedics and firefighters did everything they could to save his life. He's on a ventilator from what I understand," said Capt. Mary Gutierrez.
It's hard to comprehend the enormity of this tragedy, but with 14 people living in the four townhomes, neighbors say it could have been much worse. The early morning hour meant most everyone was asleep at the time and the fire spread quickly. "My neighbor knocked my door, said 'Get out, get out, fire, fire,'" Lan Le said.
The survivors say they feel fortunate. "Words can't even express. I'm just so grateful, very grateful," one woman said. For one family though, the toll is devastating.
