ROGERS, Texas — What should have been a blissful Christmas Eve morning turned into tragedy for one family. A devastating fire on Sunday, Dec. 24 left one woman dead and five other family members with severe burns and injures.
The explosion happened at 105 W. Gulf Ave in Rogers, Texas.
The Bell County Fire Marshal says the woman inside, 64-year-old Manuela Carrillo, was not able to escape the home and died as a result.
Her husband, Fidel Carrillo, suffered severe burns to his body attempting to rescue his wife and was later transported by EMS to Scott & White Emergency. He was later transferred to a Dallas burn treatment facility.
Four other family members were inside at the time and they all suffered burns and injuries, none were life threatening.
The fire marshal says they believe the family was cooking when it happened. However, it will be weeks before they know the official cause of the house explosion.
Temple Fire and Rescue was one of the many agencies who helped assist with the fire.
Temple Fire Chief Mitch Randles says they have seen multiple fires sparking from cooking a simple meal this holiday season.
"They will get tied up in another activity or another function, and so they walk away from their cooking," Randles said. "Then you know, the pan or the oven or whatever will catch on fire."
That's why it's crucial to take all the precautions you can.
Randles says home owners must have a working smoke detector in every level of the home.
"If you have a two story house, you should have at least two smoke detectors in it," Randles said. "If you only have a one story house, it should be by the bedrooms where you're sleeping, so they'll wake you up in the middle of night."
Additionally, it's important to have a functional fire extinguisher.
"The fire extinguisher is to give you enough time to get you and your family out of the home," Randles added.
If you have natural gas or propane in your home, you will need a carbon monoxide detector.
"These will solve most of your really life threatening issues that you could have around the holidays or for that matter just day in day out," Randles said.
If you smell gas or smoke and can't figure out what it is, remember to call the people who are ready to help.
"A lot of times you'll hear folks say, 'Well, we didn't want to bother you,'" Randles said. "It is one hundred percent not a bother. That's what we're here for. It's what we do. We're here to serve and protect you. Absolutely don't feel like, even on the holidays that you're bothering us or putting us out in any way. That's our job."
As the new year approaches, the Temple Fire Chief wants to remind people fireworks and shooting guns in the air are illegal in most parts of Bell County.
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