Woman ‘grateful’ daughter, siblings okay after Orosi fire displaces 35

OROSI, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – In the town of Orosi, dozens of people have been left to pick up the few belongings they have left, after a multi-story apartment fire tore through a building near the intersection of Ella Avenue and Road 127 around 3:45 p.m. Wednesday.

In total, 35 have been left without a home.

People who were forced to rush out, many without a thing, or even shoes.

Some of those displaced include the family of Cassandra Prieto, who had called the building home for the past five years.

Prieto says she was occupied with a family emergency before seeing another; her apartment complex and practically everything she owned were destroyed by fire.

“When I got here, I just seen the fire trucks,” Prieto told YourCentralValley.com. “I ran through the alley and I checked inside. I looked in through our apartment. I didn’t see nothing. I just seen my life fall,” she said.

She says thankfully, her five siblings and three-year-old daughter escaped uninjured, but are still rattled.

“I know that everything’s replaceable and all that, but my sibling’s life is not, nor my daughter’s,” she said. “I’m more than grateful that they’re fine.”

Prieto, 21, says she is the primary caretaker for not just her daughter, but also each of her five siblings living with her, ages 17, 12, 10, nine, and five.

And she says it all hit as she started a new job Thursday, in hopes of getting them all into a better situation.

“We’re going through a really hard time right now. This, that happened, made it even harder.”

She and her family, along with each of the others displaced, received help and temporary housing vouchers from the Red Cross.

As some right in the area, at the Culter Orosi Family Education Center, have already reached out directly to each of them, even offering snacks, drinks, and shoes to some on-scene when the fire broke out.

Thursday, they began collecting donations, and the community didn’t disappoint, with tables full of clothes, shoes, food, hygiene supplies, and more.

“We got in here at 8 a.m. and made sure we called families right away to get their sizes and pant sizes. The kids, if they were okay. Where they stayed the night,” Martiza Gonalez, the program manager for the education center, said.

Now, for Prieto and her family, it’s all about taking things one step at a time.

“I don’t know where this could lead to. I don’t know what was the meaning of it but I believe everything happens for a reason,” she shared.

If you would like to help Prieto’s family recover from the fire, visit their GoFundMe by clicking here.

If you would like to help other community members in Orosi, the Cutler Orosi Family Education Center is accepting donations until this weekend, including 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

If you have questions about what you can donate, give them a call at 559-528-1790.