The three survivors of a fatal Christmas Day blaze remain in medically induced comas three weeks after the converted garage they were living in caught fire, leaving one dead.
Sebastian Solis, 34, died in the fire, which was reported around 3 a.m. Dec. 25. Solis’ 44-year-old wife, Alma Ramirez, 12-year-old son, William Solis, and 7-year-old daughter, Gladys Solis, remain in critical condition, according to Alma’s son Jorge Ramirez. Doctors have told Ramirez his family members are “going in the right direction.”
Ramirez, 23, said not being able to speak to his family members since the fatal fire has been the “worst nightmare.” Solis died from smoke inhalation and burns, according to the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office, which deemed his death accidental. The surviving members are being treated at Los Angeles-area burn units.
The fire left the family without a home and a primary breadwinner, Ramirez said. Sebastian Solis worked in irrigation in the local farm fields and his wife was a full-time mother.
Ramirez said he is now focused on trying to make sure his family has a place to come home to when they are released from the hospital. He has set up a fundraiser to cover their medical expenses and support them while they recover. The fire caused $85,000 in damage, according to the fire investigation report.
“I know if my dad was here, he would tell me that I’m the man of the house now and I need to take care of them,” Ramirez said. “I can feel his presence telling me that I have to be strong for them.”
The fire-singed eaves and walls of the family’s backyard dwelling unit were visible from the street this week in the neighborhood of mostly single-story homes in the Bartolo Square North neighborhood off of South Ventura Road. Christmas lights were still draped on the main house of the property. A poinsettia and religious icon sat on the front doorstep.
Unpermitted construction had converted the single-family home on the property into three dwelling units and contributed to the casualties, according to the fire investigation report. It also highlighted the dangers of substandard-living conditions.
Investigation findings
Oxnard Fire Assistant Chief John Colamarino said the converted garage in the 1400 block of West Guava Street where the family was living was not permitted for use as a dwelling. Fire investigators found the attached garage had been converted into a living area with a combined bedroom/kitchen, second bedroom and a bathroom.
Unpermitted construction also divided the main house into two units, according to the fire investigation report. Three families, including the victims, lived on the property, the report says.
There were no smoke detectors in the converted garage, and the main house had one smoke detector, which was not functioning, according to the report.
The fire was likely started by religious ceremonial candles, but a “major contributing factor” to both the severity of the fire and the casualties was the unpermitted construction work and lack of smoke detectors to alert the sleeping tenants, the report says.
According to the investigation report, Alma Ramirez liked to light “candles to the saints.”
High rents, inadequate housing
The family had lived in the converted garage for the past decade, Ramirez said. Because of Oxnard’s high cost of rent and Solis’s employment as a farmworker, it was the only housing his family could afford, the son said.
Oxnard City Manager Alexander Nguyen said the issue of substandard housing in Oxnard is a function of the high cost of housing in California, as well as the inadequate housing supply that has been created by four decades of communities resisting the need for more housing. Inflation and rising construction costs have also exacerbated the issue, he said.
“There’s huge demand and hardly any supply,” he said.
Nguyen said Oxnard does not have reliable estimates of how many residents are living in substandard housing, but he estimates there are “a lot.” He said the market rate for a two-bedroom apartment in the city is around $2,600 a month, which translates to over $31,000 a year for rent.
The city manager said federal housing guidelines suggest renters should spend no more than one-third of their income on rent, which means a family would need to make over $90,000 a year to afford a market-rate rental. Nguyen said many workers in Oxnard earn annual incomes between $25,000 and $30,000.
“These are circumstances born out of necessity. I don’t believe that any family wants to live in a garage,” Nguyen said. “There’s nowhere for them to go, and there’s nowhere they can afford.”
Ramirez said he didn’t know how much his parents paid in rent, but he said they were worried about an impending rent increase.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2021 report to Congress on housing needs, nearly 8 million renter households had “worst case needs,” meaning they had very low incomes of no more than 50% of the area median income, did not receive housing assistance and either spent over 50% of their income on rent and utilities, lived in “severely inadequate housing” with one or more serious problems related to heating, plumbing and electrical systems or maintenance, or both.
While severe rent burden made up 95% of worst case needs, 5% had inadequate housing.
After Nguyen’s family immigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam, he said his single mother, his sister and he shared a single rented bedroom.
“I’m not a ashamed of that. But I understand it,” he said.
Nguyen said the “puzzle” the city is working on is how to prevent similar tragedies without displacing families. He said formal inspections to determine if units meet safety standards could automatically trigger enforcement actions that could lead to families being displaced from their homes, worsening the homeless crisis. He said his staff is working on other solutions, like trying to make sure all households have access to working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
“We’re looking for a way to promote safety without causing displacement,” he said.
Nguyen said not all instances of overcrowding or inadequate housing are due to “slumlords.” He said in many instances, it is the result of families pooling their resources in order to afford rent. There are few government programs to help families in such situations, he said, and the city is maxed out on federal housing vouchers. Many families who hold such vouchers can’t use them because there aren’t available units, he said.
Education that leads to higher wages and medical benefits is the long-term solution to the problem, Nguyen said. He said he is working with Oxnard College to create and promote programs that make residents more employable in well-paying jobs.
A son’s grief
Ramirez lived with his family in the converted garage until two months ago, when he moved out to live with his fiancée a few minutes away. He was often homesick, he said, and frequently returned home to visit. He spent Christmas Eve with his family and they enjoyed a meal of tacos and pozole. Hours later, a neighbor called Ramirez in the middle of the night to alert him that his family’s home was on fire.
“It was the most traumatic phone call of my life,” Ramirez said.
Jorge was a child when Solis married Alma Ramirez. Jorge said Solis was the only father he has ever known and referred to his stepfather as “Pops.”
Solis grew up in Mexico and came to the United States as a teen, Ramirez said. He worked on irrigation systems in the local farm fields and was the family’s sole provider.
“He was a hard-working person. He always prioritized family. He was well respected by his peers,” Ramirez said.
Alma, a devout Catholic who also immigrated from Mexico, is a stay-at-home mother.
“She is the best cook,” Ramirez said. “She always took care of everyone.”
Ramirez said the tragedy has made him question God, but he said he believes everything happens for a reason. He asked for prayers and donations as his family begins the long road to recovery.
“I don’t understand right now, but eventually, hopefully I will,” he said.
Dawn Megli is an investigative and watchdog reporter for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at dawn.megli@vcstar.com or @ReporterDawn. This story was made possible by a grant from the Ventura County Community Foundation’s Fund to Support Local Journalism.
