Belton Fire Department officials said the cause of the fire, which started in the attic, was electrical.
Gabriel Barocio said his wife noticed smoke coming from their house in the 200 block of Frances Lane as she was leaving for work.
“She said, ‘y’all get out, the house is on fire,’” Gabriel Barocio said. “I thought she was joking.”
Gabriel Barocio, his wife, Lisa, and two daughters, Rachel, 21, and Simona, 13, were able to get out of the house. Gabriel said one of his daughters heard a loud “pop” from the attic when she turned on the kitchen light, but did not think anything about the sound.
“It’s not a good feeling. I know I was concerned about my family, but my belongings, too,” he said. The fire spread so swiftly that the Barocios did not have enough time to retrieve any possessions. Gabriel had to borrow a coat from a neighbor.
“I remember seeing pictures from a long time ago when the kids were babies,” he said. “I bet it’s all gone.”
Gabriel Barocio’s son Jason, 16, was spending the night at Gabriel’s in-law’s house the night before the fire. The 16-year-old said he lost a custom low rider bike and several clothes that he had gotten as Christmas presents. However, Jason said his family will stay with his grandparents. “She always tells us anything she has, it’s open to us.”
The Barocios live on the same street as several relatives, including Lisa Barocio’s parents and five sisters. The Barocios’ home church, the Church of God of the First Born, is also on the same street.
Gabriel Barocio’s sister-in-law, Elsie Springer, lives next door and noticed the fire when she went outside to crank her husband’s semi-truck. Springer’s husband, Stanley, went to the Barocios’ residence to make sure they were out of the house.
Belton Fire Chief Roy D. Harmon said the Belton Fire Department responded to the scene first, followed by Salado. “We really couldn’t have done our mission without the Salado Volunteer Fire Department,” Harmon said.
Everything above the roof line was destroyed, but some furniture in the downstairs area might be salvageable, Harmon said.
“I wouldn’t call it a complete loss,” he said.
The fire was not a threat to other homes in the area, but Harmon said the fire could have reached the surrounding dry grass.
Since there was no major water supply near the fire, firefighters used a
