CORONA NORCO : Arson Suspected : Family Escapes as Fire Ruins Corona Home

The Vasquez family might have seemed a little too happy to be combing the rubble of their Corona home Thursday, but they had good reason: They were alive to do it.

All four had been asleep Thursday morning when fire broke out on their front porch. By the time 17-year-old Rosemary Vasquez stirred, the air in their house was hot and full of smoke.

She rushed to awaken her parents and brother. “They were very lucky to get out,” said Corona fire inspector David Reed. “More than a couple more minutes and they would not have made it.”

Not much else did make it out of the blazing house, Reed added, estimating the total damage at $65,000.

“The few belongings they’re getting out are pretty damaged,” he said.

Investigators believe an arsonist was responsible for the blaze, Reed said.

He declined to provide any more details, however, saying their release might hinder the investigation that he and two investigators from the Riverside County arson unit are conducting.

Meanwhile, Vasquez family members sifted through the blackened remains of their home on West 10th Street, salvaging a few pieces of clothing and a few personal belongings from the home that firefighters said was close to a total loss.

“Everything is burned,” Rosemary Vasquez said. “Everything.”

The family will stay temporarily at a nearby motel, said her father, Camerino. Their fire insurance will provide another house and new furniture, he said, but cannot replace the family photographs and keepsakes that were lost.

“We cannot bring the old things back,” Vasquez said.

“But,” his son Frank added, “at least we still have us.”