Healdsburg family determined to rebuild Magnolia Manor care home after fire

There has been no shortage of grief for the Matos family.

After the sudden death of a family member in May, a fire struck their senior care facility on Nov. 25, leaving nothing behind except a half-charred Rubik's cube, an ornament and a baby Jesus doll used every Christmas Eve by St. John's church, said Liz Matos, house administrator.

Magnolia Manor in Healdsburg was deemed a total loss by fire investigators.

“My two children were raised at Magnolia Manor since we first opened in 2003 and the residents we take care of are truly our family,” Matos said. “Looking at it now all burnt up just breaks my heart because we built that place.”

The senior residents living at the home had just finished eating dinner and were in their rooms watching TV or preoccupied with hobbies on the evening of Nov. 25.

In the kitchen, Matos placed leftover enchiladas inside the oven for her 10-year-old son, Carlos, and her mom, Bebie Lopez, who owns and manages the house.

While the enchiladas were heating up, Matos went outside to the garden adjacent to the old, wooden farmhouse. Then Carlos called out to her.

Panic filled his voice, Matos recalled.

She rushed in and saw black smoke spewing from the oven. She opened the broiler drawer below.

“Flames just shot out and the wooden cabinets above the stove caught fire,” Matos said. “My initial reaction was just that I had to get these people out.”

It was around 6 p.m. when Matos said she told Carlos to run outside and call 911. There was no time for him to even grab his shoes, let alone any cherished personal belongings, she said.

The fire surged past the kitchen area as Matos said her mom ran to the bedrooms on the main floor where two residents were immobile and evacuated them. Matos hurried to help the four residents living upstairs.

Within minutes, she and her mother were able to safely usher the six residents outside where they waited for the fire department. No one was injured or sustained any serious smoke inhalation in the quick escape, Matos said.

The fire tore through the wooden structure and when the first Healdsburg fire engine arrived, flames were blowing out the front of the 2000-square-foot residence, said Linda Collister, Healdsburg's fire marshal.

Healdsburg firefighters called for a second alarm, due to the size of the building and the nearby structures that were in danger. Eventually about 50 firefighters from eight agencies came with about a dozen engines and water tenders, said Marshall Turbeville, a Cal Fire battalion chief who ran the night's firefight.

“The fire gutted the inside and while a few rooms didn't completely burn, the entire structure will have to be rebuilt,” Collister said.

Investigator Steve Mosiurchak of Sonoma County Fire and Emergency Services determined the oven was indeed the origin of the fire based on witness statements and an investigation.

Damage totaled at least $500,000, according to a Cal Fire official.

The residents were relocated by Red Cross. One resident went with family and the other five were taken to Healdsburg hotel rooms, Collister said.

Losing the home they converted into a senior care facility a decade ago was the latest blow, after Lopez's husband, Lupe, died in May.

He was a larger-than-life fixture at the home and his death was almost unbearable, Matos said.

“Lupe was the handyman and did all the landscaping at the house,” she said. “It has been a tough year.”

But a surge of community support from friends and strangers has started to lift their spirits.

A GoFundMe page set up by St. John's church has raised nearly $7,000. Carlos is being lauded as a hero on social media for alerting his mother to the fire and for remaining calm while directing firefighters to Magnolia Manor. Many community members have even offered to replace Carlos' PlayStation, which was his favorite possession, Matos said.

Matos and her family have been staying at a local hotel while slowly working to regrow their business. All six of the senior residents have made it clear they wish to remain with Magnolia Manor, Matos said.

“Most of our residents no longer have family so we are their family,” Matos said. “My mom and I keep telling ourselves if we are stressed out, how will that affect our patients? Ultimately it is about them.”

Matos is in the process of finding a temporary home until they can rebuild Magnolia Manor, which, she said, is the longterm goal.

“That is very much in the future, because that is our home, and we will rebuild it from scratch,” she said.