HOUSTON – A Houston family says their faith is the only thing that survived after a fire destroyed their home of 20 years.
Investigators determined the cause: faulty electrical wiring—a danger that experts say may be hiding inside thousands of older homes across the city.
“Everything burned except that cross”
When Yoselin Serratos returned to what was left of her home, she noticed one thing standing out from the ashes.
“That’s the first thing I noticed actually when I came here,” Serratos said, holding back tears. “When I took pictures, that’s the thing that stood out to me, of how bright it looked even with all this behind it. It just gave me that comfort to know that I know He was there with us the whole time. And even after, like, and even now, I know He’s not gonna leave us alone. He’s protecting us, and He’s watching over us.”
The gold cross still hangs beside the front door, untouched by the flames. Inside, a framed picture of the Virgin Mary was found with no smoke or burn marks.
“There’s a photo inside that’s untouched, no smoke, no ashes, no fire on it, intact one hundred percent,” she said.
But everything else was gone.
“My dad started banging on our door and just screaming that the house was on fire,” Serratos said. “I grabbed both our kids. We tried to run out the front door, but our front door was actually jammed.”
The family managed to escape through the back door. Investigators later found that the fire started near the porch light, spreading through the attic within seconds.
“They tracked down the root of the cause, and they said it was actually our front porch light, where it’s next to our room,” she said. “That’s the one that caused it. It actually started in our attic and it just caught everything on top on fire.”
Her father’s quick thinking saved their lives.
“If my dad hadn’t gotten up when he did, we’d be planning something totally different right now,” she said.
A common danger in Houston homes
Data from the Houston Fire Department shows thousands of structure fires each year, with electrical failures among the top causes. The National Fire Protection Association estimates nearly 33,000 house fires in the U.S. annually involve wiring or lighting systems.
Across Houston, entire neighborhoods are made up of homes built in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s — decades before today’s electrical codes. Many still have cloth wiring, two-prong outlets, or circuits that can’t handle modern appliances.
Experts say that when insulation around those wires deteriorates, it can spark quickly behind walls, often before smoke alarms go off.
City programs designed to prevent these fires
The City of Houston’s Housing and Community Development Department says it has programs designed to help prevent these kinds of tragedies — not after they happen, but before.
“One of the big things about this department is that we do community outreach and we do community revitalization,” said Cedric Lassane, Assistant Director of the department. “And part of that revitalization is one of our programs is a home repair program. Another program is our disaster recovery program.”
The department uses federal funding to repair or rebuild homes for qualifying residents, often focusing on safety hazards like outdated wiring.
“When we go in homes that have cloth wiring, we’re going to rewire the home,” Lassane said. “That’s going to be something that we’re going to either look at repairing or just tearing the whole structure down and rebuilding a home that’s going to be sustainable.”
Lassane says the city can invest up to $300,000 per home to make it safe and energy-efficient. Families must apply, meet income requirements, and live within Houston city limits.
“It’s going to be up to three hundred thousand dollars that we will put back into the home,” he said. “And several things that we look at — is it in a floodplain, the condition of the home, is there deferred maintenance items? And then our goal is going to be to provide an efficient, sustainable home back into a neighborhood.”
These programs aren’t emergency funds or cash assistance. Instead, they focus on prevention — fixing old homes before problems like wiring failures, foundation cracks, or roof leaks become life-threatening.
Faith and a new start
Yoselin says she never knew programs like this existed. Her family has now applied, hoping to rebuild their home safely through the city’s repair initiative.
“We lost everything, but not our faith,” Serratos said. “That cross, that picture… they’re proof that He never left us.”
The Serratos family says they’re also grateful to their neighbors who helped them escape and to those donating clothes and essentials through their online fundraiser.
They plan to rebuild on the same property — stronger, safer, and with wiring that no longer puts their lives at risk.
How to check your home
City inspectors and licensed electricians recommend:
- Checking for frequent breaker trips, flickering lights, or warm outlets
- Replacing two-prong outlets with grounded ones
- Scheduling an inspection if your home was built before 1980
- Avoiding overloading a single outlet with high-voltage appliances
- Installing working smoke alarms in every room
Homeowners who meet income requirements can apply for assistance through the city’s program.
Learn more at HoustonTX.gov/housing or call 832-394-6200.