A Lafayette woman was admitted to the intensive care unit after narrowly escaping a house fire on April 20.
Kathy Rodriguez was on bed rest due to a recent cancer surgery, when her family’s home caught fire early that morning at 11152 Flatiron Drive. Lafayette Fire and Mountain View Fire Rescue firefighters saw heavy smoke and flames coming from the rear of the house when they arrived, according to a Mountain View Fire Rescue post on X.
Rodriguez, her husband Robert Rodriguez and Felix Rodriguez, Robert’s father, got out of the house. Rodriguez and her husband drove to the hospital, where she was admitted to the intensive care unit. Rodriguez is now on the mend after being transferred out of the ICU, but she hasn’t left the hospital, yet, according to her daughter Amy Rodriguez-Ness.
“She had a really successful surgery and she was only home for five days before the fire happened … everything has been so hard for five months since she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer,” Rodriguez-Ness said.
Our crews responded to assist Lafayette Fire on a Structure Fire call overnight at a 2 story split level home. When LFD crews got to the scene on Flatiron Drive they found heavy flames and smoke coming from the rear of the house and called in for additional help.
📷@Code10Photos pic.twitter.com/q17O6Jv2bV
— Mountain View Fire Rescue (@MVFireRescue) April 20, 2024
Her mom may be out of the ICU, but she is not out of the woods until she gets out of the hospital, Rodriguez-Ness said.
“She was bleeding internally and lost a lot of blood,” Rodriguez-Ness said.
That night, neighbor and close friend Jonah Levine said he woke up around 1 a.m. to see the Rodriguez house on fire.
“There were oxygen tanks on the back deck, and they started to explode,” said Levine. “I jump out of bed and look out the window, and there’s this gigantic blaze. Then, I ran over next door thinking our dear friends are in there … I’m running out to the house and the three of them are coming out the front door, Kathy, Robert and Felix.”
While walking over to check on his neighbors, Levine was on the phone with Kathy’s daughter. Rodriguez-Ness recalled being in total shock, not knowing what to expect when she received the early-morning call from her parent’s neighbor.
“One of the things that went through my mind is how do I get through things without them … they’re my world,” said Rodriguez-Ness. “Those two keep our family together. It was probably the scariest thought I could think of.”
Levine quickly notified her that her parents were safe, but that the house was still in flames. Rodriguez-Ness proceeded to wake up her husband and son and immediately drove over to the house.
“I was screaming, and my husband shot out of bed … the whole time I’m on the phone saying, ‘Tell me they’re okay,’” said Rodriguez-Ness. “On the way there, it was snowing, and my husband couldn’t drive that fast.”
On the drive, the couple received a call from a nearby police officer telling Rodriguez-Ness that her parents were on the way to the hospital. When Rodriguez-Ness saw her parent’s car, she and her husband followed suit.
The house was later considered a total loss, said Rodriguez-Ness, but surprisingly her parents’ phones and IDs were retrieved from the wreckage.
“My grandpa built this house in the 1970s. It’s 53 years worth of memories. My dad grew up in this house since he was 5,” said Rodriguez-Ness. “Seeing the house the other day was unbelievable, because that’s the house I grew up in. I don’t think I’ve fully processed it.”
Currently the cause of the fire is undetermined, according to Rick Tillery, Mountain View Fire Rescue spokesman.
“Due to damage, it can be a little challenging to find exactly what the cause of the fire was, but we still have investigators determining the cause,” Tillery said.
Although the family’s insurance company is expected to provide temporary housing, Rodriguez-Ness said it is likely the house won’t be fully covered.
“For us to be good citizens and good neighbors we got to give and help them because one more dinner date or that next Switch game for the kids is not important. These folks need linens, clothes and money for medical bills,” said Levine. “It’s incumbent upon us to support them.”
To donate to the Rodriguez family, visit https://gofund.me/ebec181d.
