Man’s neighbors help fight fire

By Elaine Marsilio in The Corpus Christi Caller-Times
Neighbors and friends helped to save a Corpus Christi man’s house Tuesday after they saw his garage on fire. Jerry Zepeda, 57, was at work about 2 p.m. when a fire started in the garage of his home in the 4400 block of Barrera Drive. Neighbors called 911 and Zepeda and tried to battle the blaze.

Some neighbors and their friends jumped Zepeda’s locked front fence and watered down the home with their own hoses or ones they borrowed, said Albert Soto, 55, who lives across Barrera Drive from Zepeda. Soto said that he and some of his relatives tried to water as much as they could but that the flames were moving too quickly out of the garage.

He said flames started coming out of the back of the garage and were threatening to ignite a car behind it.

“With that water hose you can’t control a fire like that,” Soto said. “It’s impossible.”

Three fire units responded, and it took firefighters about 10 minutes to contain the blaze and a few minutes longer to put out hot spots, mostly in the garage and its attic, fire investigator Mark Wagner said.

Corpus Christi fire officials couldn’t find a source for the blaze and have ruled its cause as undetermined, Wagner said.

Zepeda’s home suffered smoke damage. He said he doesn’t have insurance and would seek help from agencies such as the American Red Cross. He said he will remain positive about repairing his home.

“Whatever happens, I’m just going to have to deal with it,” he said.