(Courtesy photo)
By ARABELLA SERRATA
editor@sbnewspaper.com
Area residents and organizations are rallying around a family that lost their home and belongings in a fire last week.
The blaze occurred at the Mata family home in the early hours of Friday, Nov. 29. Immediately, they scrambled out of the house with nothing but each other and the clothes on their backs. In the wake of this tragedy, the community has rallied support for the struggling family.
“I don’t know where to start, honestly,” said Mistica Mata, wife of Julio Mata and mother of two.
She said the family had just returned home from a relative’s house for Thanksgiving and decided to cook on the outdoor grill because they were still hungry. Mistica Mata insists that the fire from the grill was put out before the family went to bed. After going to sleep for the night, Mistica Mata and the family didn’t wake until around the early morning.
“When I looked at the back [of the house] from my door, I saw the whole door on fire. I didn’t think twice, I went and grabbed my babies,” said Mata.
Mata acted fast, taking mere minutes to save her children.
“I think it was less than a minute, maybe two minutes,” said Mata.
Mistica and Julio Mata suffered second and third-degree burns respectively, and Mistica’s hair caught fire during the ordeal. She recalled hearing the popping sounds and windows breaking during the fire and desperately trying to make sense of it.
“It’s insane how everything happened. It doesn’t make any sense,” said Mistica Mata.
Neighbors helped get Mistica Mata and the kids to her mother’s home, giving them a brief break from watching their home be consumed by the flames. Julio Mata stayed at the scene.
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around the situation, it’s still unbelievable… I feel like this is a dream, I want somebody to wake me up because I don’t feel like this is happening,” said Mistica Mata.
In the aftermath of the fire, the community of San Benito has stepped up to help the family.
“I’m so grateful, thankful, and blessed to see the community come together as one,” said Mistica Mata.
The family received clothes, shoes, blankets and more.
“I didn’t think I was going to get what I got. I left my house with nothing, and now … I get to say ‘Wow, it’s ours again,’” said Mistica Mata.
Soledad Villarreal is one of the neighbors helping the family during these trying times. Her efforts helped many people donate to the Matas. Villarreal reported the family now had a surplus of items. They plan on paying forward their blessing and donating whatever they don’t need.
Once the investigation is complete, the family plans on using the money donated to them to break down what remains of the house and rebuild it.
“I don’t want anything luxurious, I just want a roof over our heads again. I want to be able to say we have a home,” said Mistica Mata.
She said the family has been taking the situation “pretty hard” and was talking about a devastating alternative scenario where they were asking for funeral donations instead of clothes. The family is grateful to have left the fire relatively unharmed.
“Who knows how it could have been. I don’t know how they would have gotten our bodies out, I don’t know if they would have had to cut the bodies out [of the mattress]… it’s hard to even think about that,” said Mistica Mata.
She expressed the immense relief and kindness the community has shown her family.
“I thank them all for coming together as one and blessing us with some things, even when they thought it wasn’t enough, it was more than enough. Even a word exchange, prayers, or a dollar, I’m just very grateful,” said Mistica Mata.
The Mata family plans to hold a barbeque fundraiser with the Harlingen Glass company, which has consistently supported the family since the incident. The date has yet to be set. A gofundme has also been created to aid the family. It can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/f/stand-with-the-matas-fire-recovery-fund. Any money raised will go directly to rebuilding the house.
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