FALLBROOK, Calif. (KGTV) - A Fallbrook mother and her newborn daughter escaped a mobile home fire that destroyed all their belongings, including irreplaceable hospital keepsakes from the baby's birth just days earlier.
Last Thursday, Violeta Nieto was nursing her 4-day-old daughter Tahlia in her mobile home on Rice Canyon Road when she noticed smoke filling the room.
She says the fire started after Nieto's landlord attempted to restore power that had gone out overnight due to winds. Around noon, electrical sparking began in a drawer near her bed and a refrigerator.
"It just started sparking in the bottom drawer," an emotional Nieto said. "I saw the smoke filling up. It wasn't going to stop. I knew I needed to get out. I just ran with my baby. That’s what mattered — the most important thing."
The fire consumed the entire mobile home in under 10 minutes, destroying all of Nieto's possessions.
"The crib was right here in the middle," Nieto said, standing in the charred remains of her home.
Among the items lost were all of the baby's supplies and clothes, along with precious hospital keepsakes, including Tahlia's footprints from her birth.
"It hurts me. My life was in there — pictures, her stuff from the hospital, her clothes, everything was in there. My whole life. So it was a lot," Nieto said.
Nieto estimates she lost upwards of $10,000 worth of belongings and did not have renters' insurance. Despite the devastating loss, she remains grateful.
"I'm just grateful me and baby are good," Nieto said. "Having her makes me feel like I have everything."
The North County Fire Protection District says the investigation is ongoing.
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help Nieto with her recovery.
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