Couple’s travel trailer ‘went up real quick’ after fire broke out on west side of San Antonio

Joe Ariaga, girlfriend escaped just in time

SAN ANTONIO – A fire on the city’s West Side Monday morning destroyed a travel trailer, taking with it most of what Joe Ariaga and his girlfriend owned.

Ariaga said he was asleep when the fire broke out shortly after 7:30 a.m. in the 600 block of North San Eduardo Avenue.

“I’m telling you, when I say it went up, it went up real quick,” Ariaga said. “I just thank God that we’re still here.”

As soon as Ariaga realized what was happening, he grabbed a bucket of water and tried to douse the flames.

Firefighters say the trailer was engulfed in flames when they arrived. (KSAT 12 News)

The battle left Ariaga with singed hair and soot all over his face.

Paramedics checked Ariaga out at the scene to make sure he was OK.

“The flames just started at the back, started right up in the back. Of course I inhaled some of the stuff,” he said.

Within minutes, more than a half dozen San Antonio Fire Department units had arrived.

SAFD Capt. Jeff Masters said the flames had engulfed the trailer by the time they arrived.

Masters said a neighbor told him the fire seemed to appear out of nowhere.

“He was just out here and didn’t see anything,” Masters said. “Then he walks back out with a second cup of coffee and the whole trailer was on fire.”

How the fire started is still not known, although Masters said there was a gasoline-powered generator inside the trailer.

Masters said one of the occupants had been working on it, trying to fix it.

Firefighters were just out at that location a few days ago when the home right next door caught fire.

Masters says at that time, firefighters found extension cords leading from the home that burned last week to the trailer, which had no electrical hookup.

However, he said the cause of that fire also remains under investigation.

“I just thank God that we’re still here,” Ariaga said.

In spite of all they’ve lost, Ariaga said he still has a reason to be grateful.


About the Authors:

Katrina Webber joined KSAT 12 in December 2009. She reports for Good Morning San Antonio. Katrina was born and raised in Queens, NY, but after living in Gulf Coast states for the past decade, she feels right at home in Texas. It's not unusual to find her singing karaoke or leading a song with her church choir when she's not on-air.

Tim has been a photojournalist and video editor at KSAT since 1998. He came to San Antonio from Lubbock, where he worked in TV and earned his bachelor's degree in Electronic Media and Communication from Texas Tech University. Tim has won a handful of awards and has earned a master's in Strategic Communication and Innovation from Tech as well.