A fire in a vacant West Side home early Monday morning quickly became a problem for the people who lived next door.
The flames wasted no time in spreading from that vacant house, located near S. General McMullen and Monterey Street, to one occupied by two women in their 70s.
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Both homes were destroyed.
John Roberts says he was glad to learn his 78-year-old mother, Martha, and her caretaker had made it out safely.
“I know we’ve been experiencing a lot of fires here in San Antonio where older folks have been passing away. Fortunately my mom didn’t become one of the stats,” he said.
Roberts stopped by to view what was left of the family home hours later.
He said he found out about the fire when he got a call from his mother shortly after 3 a.m.
“She said somebody passing by is the one who actually knocked on the door and got them out,” Roberts said. “And truly I’m just grateful to that person, whoever that lady was.”
Despite the efforts of firefighters, there was not much else that could be saved.
The vacant house where the fire started burned to the ground.
Martha Roberts’ home sustained heavy damage throughout it.
Her son says she will come to live with him and his family.
Arson investigators are still trying to determine the exact cause of the fire.
Firefighters say they had reports that homeless people had been staying inside the vacant home.
In fact, at one point, they were not sure that all of them had escaped the fire.
“We originally had heard that there may be a person unaccounted for, but we have since located him,” said Battalion Chief Doug Reed with SAFD.
Reed confirmed that investigators are looking at the possibility that some of the homeless people may have had a hand in the fire.
He said they will be reviewing surveillance video provided by a neighbor for possible clues.