Sifting for bits of her life

Just two days after a fast-moving blaze devoured her Nipomo home, Ruth Ramones was picking up the pieces and trying to salvage as much of her family’s past as possible.

“Oh yes, it’s (the house) a part of me,” Ramones, 82, said Monday of the home she lived in for 43 years.

“It’s a part of me. I spent most of my time there in my 82 years.”

Fire investigators said an electrical problem apparently ignited the fire, which roared through the single-story, wood-frame home at 526 S. Oakglen Ave. around 2:15 p.m. Saturday. The blaze destroyed most of the property, including almost all of Ramones’ belongings.

Ramones escaped without injury, but her Chihuahua dog, Cisco, died in the blaze.

Watching flames consume the three-bedroom house where she raised her children was like “being in hell,” Ramones said.

While firefighters made it to the house in under four minutes — the Cal Fire station is on North Oakglen — the home was engulfed in flames so quickly that they couldn’t save the structure, said Battalion Chief Bill Fisher.

“It was a pretty old home that didn’t have insulation in it, and there weren’t many fire blocks,” Fisher said. “As soon as it got into the attic, it burned really hot and really fast.”

Ramones is now living with her son, Tom Ramones, and his wife, Sandi, in Arroyo Grande and is doing as well as can be expected, said Sandi Ramones.

“She’s a pretty tough lady,” she said. “It’s hard for her, but she’s getting along.”

The couple’s two “overly friendly” Dachshunds are also keeping Ruth Ramones company as she recovers, Sandi added.

Hoping to recover some of Ruth Ramones’ belongings, her son picked through the ashes Sunday afternoon and filled a trash bag with charred items that were possibly salvageable.

Included were two blackened photo albums, from which Sandi said she was able to save pieces of some 200 family photos.

“We had to cut them up, but they are of the kids when they are babies and the house, and that’s really priceless,” she said. “It made such a difference to (Ruth).”

The family also was able to save some silver dollars in a little coin purse, which were part of a larger collection, and a pair of earrings that were a gift from a friend.

“We’re hanging in there and we’ll be fine,” Sandi said.

Meanwhile, Saturday’s blaze provided a real-life example for firefighters and residents of the need for secondary access on South Oakglen Avenue in times of emergency.

Herb Kandel, a board member of the Dana Adobe Nipomo Amigos, which cares for the historic Dana Adobe on South Oakglen, was trapped on the street with about seven people for two hours while firefighters fought the blaze.

Had the fire started on a different Saturday or a weekday, Kandel said, between 30 and 90 people easily could have been stranded.

“There was no exit for my team for hours,” Kandel said. “Had anybody had an emergency, like a health issue, we were trapped.”

Kandel said the group was able to leave the street around 4 p.m. but still had to weave through emergency vehicles and cross six-inch fire hoses.

“We need to think a lot harder about how we provide for safety with consideration to new construction,” Kandel said. “We heard about this problem theoretically, and now we’re experiencing it firsthand.”

A proposed housing project on South Oakglen was recently dropped by the developers after the issue of emergency access was raised.

Fisher said the fire demonstrated why San Luis Obispo County officials need to find a solution to access issues on the dead-end road.

“It’s not safe for people, and we don’t want to see anything happen,” he said.

The County Planning and Building Department is creating a specific plan for the area that will determine what kind of development should be allowed on the street and how to fund an approximately $20-million Highway 101 interchange to provide additional access.

The plan is estimated to take two to three years to complete, said planner Dale Ramey.

However, Kandel said, “The fact that money is going for a study sure doesn’t answer the immediate questions that we had on the road when we were trapped.”

Randi Block can be reached at rblock@timespressrecorder.com.