Neighbors mourn 3 victims of fire
San Jose mobile home park hit by 2nd calamity this year
Six months after a flood ravaged their neighborhood, residents at a San Jose mobile home park were again grappling with tragedy Wednesday after a fire killed three people, including two young girls.
Investigators combed through the charred wreckage of the home in the Golden Wheel Mobile Home Park as neighbors gathered to remember the elementaryschool-age girls, who were best friends, and a man killed when the home exploded in flames Tuesday afternoon.
The Santa Clara County coroner said it could be days before the victims are officially identified. But while their names were withheld, family members and neighbors recalled the vibrant young girls.
One victim, 10-year-old Linda Van, was supposed to start fifth grade at Orchard Elementary School in San Jose this week, said her brother, Thanh Van, 24.
“She was really smart and really funny,” the brother said as he wiped away tears, standing with his mother and aunt at the scene. “She would always joke around with us.”
Linda was visiting her friend’s home at the mobile home park off Oakland Road along Coyote Creek when the fire erupted. Neighbors said they often saw the girls together, riding their bikes and laughing.
The man killed in the fire was believed to be a relative of Linda’s friend, who was looking after the girls when the fire
“It took five minutes and it was burned to the ground. This is awful, awful.” Jennie Aldama, witness
broke out shortly after noon Tuesday.
Diep Vo lives next door and was preparing food in her kitchen when she heard a loud explosion and saw a horrific scene unfold.
“I was standing by the window and I heard a big boom,” she said, speaking with the help of Vietnamese interpreter. “I saw the big fire and I saw a man engulfed with fire. All his body was covered with fire, and he took a step and collapsed.”
A cell phone video taken by a neighbor shows the immediate aftermath of the explosion. Several neighbors grabbed garden hoses and doused nearby homes to keep the flames from spreading.
Members of the Santa Clara County Fire Investigation Task Force, which includes the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, were at the scene all day Wednesday, working to determine the origin and cause of the blaze. Nearby, families with children and other residents placed flowers and silently wept in front of the blackened remains of the home.
“It took five minutes, and it was burned to the ground,” said Jennie Aldama was walking her dog though the mobile home park when she saw thick black smoke and rushed to try to help. “This is awful, awful.”
Aldama said she would often walk her dog by the house and the two girls would come out to pet the animal and talk with her.
“I had a rough night just thinking about it. I’m never going to see them,” Aldama said. “This is a nightmare.”
For the residents in the Golden Wheel, Tuesday’s tragedy was not the first time this year they have faced hardship.
On Feb. 22, the nearby Coyote Creek spilled its banks when heavy rains filled nearby Anderson Lake to capacity, overwhelming the outlet to San Francisco Bay that cuts through downtown San Jose.
An estimated 14,000 households were evacuated, and hundreds of homes flooded, including many in the mobile home park.
“When I heard the news, I was in shock — six months ago, we had a flood,” San Jose City Councilman Tam Nguyen said as he looked over the fire scene and talked to neighbors Wednesday.
“This is heart-wrenching,” he said. “We’re trying to bring the community together and make some sense of this.”
Nguyen wondered if reports of an explosion signaled that the blaze may have been fueled by a gas leak.
“This is a low-income neighborhood, and many people stay together in these homes,” he said. “Maybe if they could afford better equipment, this could have been prevented.”
Neighbors said up to three families were living in the home before it burned.
Aline Mahoney, another park resident, was collecting money from neighbors on Wednesday to give to the surviving family members. By the early afternoon, she said she had collected about $800, mostly from the Vietnamese residents who share a language and culture with the victims.
“Here, the people are not rich,” she said.” But they still give what they can — five dollars, 10 max.”
Another woman, Ruby Walia, helped by setting up an online crowdfunding site for the family she was sharing on social media.
“It’s sad,” Mahoney said. “Hopefully we never see something like this again.”