CCFD responds to dozens of New Year\u2019s fire calls across Corpus Christi<\/a><\/p>\nResidents say the fires have repeatedly started at the same abandoned lot, which neighbors claim is frequently occupied by homeless individuals. The most recent fire sent residents waking up to flames and smoke, with some suffering significant property damage.<\/p>\n
Randy Fernandez, who recently moved to the neighborhood seeking a fresh start after the death of his husband, said he had no idea the vacant lot next door would become a recurring hazard.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy husband recently passed away within the past year, and I couldn’t emotionally stay in my home that I was currently in, that we’ve had for about eight years,\u201d Fernandez said.<\/p>\n
Fernandez said the ongoing fire risk has made him feel unsafe and unsupported, ultimately prompting his decision to move out of the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI ended up picking out this property, and unbeknownst to me, it was just a big hazardous situation right next door,\u201d he said. \u201cI wouldn’t book an Airbnb or a cabin rental next to something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said he feels there has been little effective response to prevent the fires from happening again.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s really nothing more I can do other than walk with my tail in between my legs, I guess, and move on,\u201d Fernandez said.<\/p>\n
Other residents, including Russell Snead, say leaving is not an option. Snead lost half of his backyard in Sunday\u2019s fire, including a shed his late wife used for sewing. She passed away about six months ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole back fence just disintegrated in front of our eyes,\u201d Snead said. \u201cAnd then the barn, that was where my wife’s she shed. It just hurt because she passed about six months ago. So now every time I see it, you know, just think of her. But it just went so fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neighbor Sarah Phillips, who works at a local law firm, said she is now considering legal action on Snead\u2019s behalf, citing property damage and rising insurance costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Snead should not be incurring costs, and then he’s going to have an increased homeowner insurance policy,\u201d Phillips said. \u201cHe has destroyed property. These homes are four years old \u2014 you don’t build a brand-new home and expect to be dealing with this four years later.\u201d<\/p>\n
As residents wait for a long-term solution, many say they are left cleaning up debris and worrying about when \u2014 not if \u2014 another fire could happen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Neighbors in Flour Bluff say repeated fires at a vacant lot have damaged property and forced one resident…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":120926,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[155,157,156],"class_list":{"0":"post-120925","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-corpus-christi","8":"tag-corpus-christi","9":"tag-corpus-christi-headlines","10":"tag-corpus-christi-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}