Generous move creates new home for San Jose fire victims

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Ann Rubin/KTVU) - It's been 11 weeks since a fire swept through a mobile home in San Jose, killing a man and two young girls. Today, the families of those victims were presented with a brand new home, thanks to the generosity of others.

The home now sits on the site where the old one burned.

"That was the main thing: they were going to be homeless and now they have a place to stay and one less thing to worry about," says Todd Su of Advantage Homes.

Donated by Todd and Cindy Su of Advantage Homes, it was a gift to the families who lost so much.

It was August when the fire broke out at the Golden Wheel Mobile Home Park. Ten-year olds, Linda Van and Uyen Tran were killed, along with Tran's uncle, Tim Bui.

Tran's mother sobbed as she walked through the new house.

A translator spoke on behalf of the mother, Thao Phan. 

"She's very grateful about that for sure. She says thank you to everyone who was helping her, but she says her daughter is her main concern."

Phan still doesn't understand what happened that day and said she needs answers about where and why the fire started.

"It's very important for her family to know, ‘why did the house burn?’” Phan said. 

The San Jose Fire Department says the investigation is now complete, but the official cause of the fire is undetermined. Investigators say it definitely started in the kitchen. And while they're guessing it was either a kitchen appliance or a gas leak, they'll never know for sure. The damage to the home was too great.

Advantage made sure the new home was furnished. And billionaire Kieu Hoang donated the site cleanup and setup. Neighbors also chipped in to help.

Authorities say they're just hoping the family has one less thing to worry about while they grieve.

"In these times we do get to see how the community responds and steps up to support one another," said San Jose city councilman Raul Peralez.