{"id":102139,"date":"2026-01-16T11:15:22","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T11:15:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/102139\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T11:15:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T11:15:22","slug":"staten-island-family-forced-to-rebuild-from-scratch-after-fire-guts-home-girl-16-charged-with-arson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/102139\/","title":{"rendered":"Staten Island family forced to rebuild from scratch after fire guts home; girl, 16, charged with arson"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 The fire that gutted a Port Richmond home left behind more than charred debris \u2014 it left a family with nothing, fighting to reclaim the life they spent decades building.<\/p>\n

The loss of their house, belongings, and beloved pet cat in what police deemed an arson has left Zayda Salas and her family starting over.<\/p>\n

Salas said her homeowner\u2019s insurance had lapsed at the time of the fire. She acknowledged this was a mistake on her part.<\/p>\n

Since the fire at their Innis Street home, the entire family has been forced to live in a single room at a cousin\u2019s house. Their search for temporary housing has been difficult, with landlords demanding long-term leases of up to three years, which the family cannot commit to while they rebuild.<\/p>\n

\"FireThe Salas family’s 22-year home was destroyed after Zayda Salas asked teenagers to leave her property.Advance\/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel<\/p>\n

The high cost of rent, which Salas noted is higher than her mortgage, has made finding a suitable place nearly impossible.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s money that we have to put down now that we didn\u2019t have,\u201d Salas admitted. \u201cWe didn\u2019t count on something like this happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Red Cross provided the family with two nights in a hotel before their assistance ended, according to Salas.<\/p>\n

\"FireBecause Zayda Salas owns her burned home, the Red Cross only provided two nights in a hotel. Her lapsed insurance and homeowner status have left the displaced family with few options.Advance\/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel<\/p>\n

Salas has set up a GoFundMe to help her family rebuild their lives. As of this writing, the family has been able to raise roughly $9,000 of their $30,000 goal. The GoFundMe fundraiser can be found at gofundme.com (search keywords: Support the Salas Family After House Fire Tragedy<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"1Martin Salas (L) stands in front of his fire-damaged house at 1 Innis St. with his daughters, Lani, 3, Jacqelin, wife Zayda, and son Joshua in Port Richmond on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. The Salas family’s surveillance footage captured the alleged arson attack that destroyed their Staten Island home. Without insurance, they’re now relying on a GoFundMe to rebuild their lives. (Owen Reiter for the Advance\/SILive.com) Owen ReiterLeading up to the fire<\/p>\n

Salas said she asked a group of teens on her property to leave minutes before the family\u2019s home was set ablaze. Salas was able to piece together a timeline of events using video surveillance footage from the home. <\/p>\n

\"innisThe Salas family lost everything when their house was set ablaze minutes after asking teenagers to leave her property.Advance\/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence<\/p>\n

A 16\u2011year\u2011old girl was arrested on Dec. 5 and charged with third\u2011degree arson in connection to the fire. <\/p>\n

The arson has left the entire neighborhood on edge. Neighbors are fearful that what happened to Salas\u2019s family could happen to them, especially since the young perpetrator is facing minimal immediate consequences.<\/a><\/p>\n

There is a palpable sense that the teenagers could get away with similar crimes in the future, creating widespread anxiety throughout the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\"FireThe Salas family is now homeless and living in one room.Advance\/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel<\/p>\n

Neighbor Charlie Tolas shared that his father, who is a resident on the block, is now terrified to confront youths who loiter in his driveway or on his property.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know they\u2019re a minor but they\u2019re old enough to know the difference between right and wrong,\u201d Tolas said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to see a teenager get sent to prison or anything like that, but something needs to be done about it. My dad is terrified, he\u2019s scared to even go out there and confront them. It\u2019s a terrible situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tolas said his father\u2019s fear is that any confrontation, no matter how minor, could lead to a similar act of violent retaliation against him or his property.<\/p>\n

\"FireZayda Salas is collecting signatures from Port Richmond neighbors to present to local officials. The family lost everything, including their pet cat, in the November blaze.Advance\/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel<\/p>\n

\u201cThere needs to be some kind of real repercussion,\u201d Tolas said. <\/p>\n

In an effort to bring about broader change, Salas has begun collecting signatures from her neighbors through a petition posted on Change.org<\/a>. She plans to present the petition to local elected officials to address the neighborhood\u2019s safety concerns.<\/p>\n

Salas expressed deep concern for her family\u2019s safety, noting that the perpetrators know who they are and where they live.<\/p>\n

\"FireA 16-year-old female faces third-degree arson charges in connection to the fire on Innis Street.Advance\/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel<\/p>\n

Comments on the family\u2019s GoFundMe page suggesting the family \u201cdeserved\u201d the attack has intensified her fears.<\/p>\n

Having lived in the house for 22 years, Salas claims she has witnessed a significant decline in the neighborhood\u2019s safety and the behavior of local youth.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not only my problem; it\u2019s everybody\u2019s problem,\u201c Salas said. \u201dI didn\u2019t say anything before, and the first time I say something, this is what happened. So many years of sacrifice and memories, gone.”<\/p>\n

\"FireWithout insurance coverage, the Salas family has started a GoFundMe campaign to rebuild. The Red Cross provided only two nights of hotel assistance because they own the destroyed home.Advance\/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 The fire that gutted a Port Richmond home left behind more than charred debris…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":102140,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-102139","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-staten-island","12":"tag-staten-island-headlines","13":"tag-staten-island-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}