Grandmother saves children, grandchildren from Fremont house fire

A Fremont family is safe thanks to the quick thinking of one grandmother. She was able to grab her grandson and warn the others that their house was on fire.

While there is a sense of relief that no one was hurt, there is also a sense of loss because all the family had worked for over the last 20 years just went up in smoke.

Emma Gamboa Solano awoke to a nightmare on Wednesday.

She says the window to her bedroom exploded and she felt the heat on her face. The home she shared with her children and grandchildren was on fire.

She says her first act was to grab her one-and-a-half year old grandson and to run, while yelling for the others in the house to get out.

"We definitely averted a tragic situation by the fact that the [grand]mother was able to feel the heat from the fire and wake everybody up at home and get everybody outside," says Division Chief Diane Hendry of the Fremont Fire Department.

The Fremont Fire Department responded quickly, still the home is a total loss. Investigators have yet to pinpoint a cause, but believe it started outside.

"If the fire had started inside the house and there was heavy smoke involved, she might not have woken up at all," says Hendry.

The fire department doesn't believe the home had working smoke detectors.

Thankfully only four of the 10 family members were home at the time. Most of the older children were at school.

Gamboa Solano had been napping with the toddler because she works nights, stocking shelves at the Dollar Store.

She says everything is gone. All she and the children have are the clothes they are wearing.

A gofundme account has been set up, but the family says it will be nearly impossible to replace all that was lost.

Also rescued from the home were several dogs and chickens.

Gamboa Solano and the others are staying with relatives while they try to figure out how to rebuild.