Fire guts Boulder Creek duplex alongside Highway 9, displacing ...

This could have been a far worse event. There are agencies who are going to have to look carefully into this sort of thing. When you see things that don't look quite right......say something to someone. Better to say something, have it checked out.......law enforcement can't do everything, County officials can't do everything, Fire officials can't do everything......but giving heads up on something ....questioning a possible disaster in the making CAN be done anonymously!!!!!!!!
Speak up!!!!!!
Don't whine......observe, take license #'s, whatever it takes.....don't be a pesty citizen...be a helpful citizen.
Don't profile.....just because someone is not of a different ethnic background than you doesn't make them "a bad guy"....just because they have a rebel flag doesn't make it a "meth house"......but trash spilling out in the street......someone taking in foster kids but feeding a zoo full of animals....THAT brings up some questions!!!!
Somewhere in your heart , do the right thing!!!!! Help out and be greatful that no Fire guys were injured,that they didn't have to drag out bodies and live with those memories.
That is something to be thankful for!

"Her 11-year-old son, J.D., sat mournfully with his 7-year-old sister, Tierney, asking a firefighter about his missing snake."

My heart is breaking for the little boy - that is so sad!

Aren't those the landlord's responsibility by law?

Smoke Alarms wrote:

Aren't those the landlord's responsibility by law?

It's their responsibility to install them when people move in. In my long experience it seems renters always remove batteries or forget to check the batteries.

This is appalling and just plane disgusting! I knew that place looked awful but had no idea how many innocent children and animals were living there.

What the H-- is wrong with the Foster care program here in Santa Cruz county? What the H--- is wrong with the landlords of that place? How on earth could the the Foster care program even place a child/children in the care of those people? That terrible environment? Why weren't the kids in school? Being home schooled I assume? Learning how live animals are fed to those snakes?
This county really sucks sometimes. They never stand behind their zoning regulations or really protect their children. I know from experience when it comes to zoning regulations and neighbors breaking them. You cannot count on this county to help you at all.

Goodbye to you trailer trash!

Thank goodness the children are unharmed physically.
The poor innocent animals who lost their lives,,,,,,,
How could such a fire break out like that with al those people being there and no one noticing until it was too late? What was going on in there? Why weren't the children being properly supervised?

Very sad.

Santa Cruz county, do you job and protect foster care kid and and behind all zoning regulations..

mhs wrote:

This could have been a far worse event. There are agencies who are going to have to look carefully into this sort of thing. When you see things that don't look quite right......say something to someone. Better to say something, have it checked out.......law enforcement can't do everything, County officials can't do everything, Fire officials can't do everything......but giving heads up on something ....questioning a possible disaster in the making CAN be done anonymously!!!!!!!!
Speak up!!!!!!
Don't whine......observe, take license #'s, whatever it takes.....don't be a pesty citizen...be a helpful citizen.
Don't profile.....just because someone is not of a different ethnic background than you doesn't make them "a bad guy"....just because they have a rebel flag doesn't make it a "meth house"......but trash spilling out in the street......someone taking in foster kids but feeding a zoo full of animals....THAT brings up some questions!!!!
Somewhere in your heart , do the right thing!!!!! Help out and be greatful that no Fire guys were injured,that they didn't have to drag out bodies and live with those memories.
That is something to be thankful for!

For the most part, this county does nothing when you-need them Speaking up for yourself doe not always work, especially with people like those. They don't care or listen. That is why we have the county and law enforcement to help us.... yet ,this county never seems to stand by their regulations. They are useless.

This county may slap you on the hand when a complaint comes in but they sure do not enforce anything. Zoning, etc. No consequences.....
I know, as we have asked the county for years now, even met with up with Sup. Stone to do something about our neighbors who are obviously continually breaking zoning regulations. All they do is send letters... no more and our neighbors keep harassing us because of it. Thanks for nothing Santa Cruz county!. The bad guy always wins and gets away with it.....

I don't know the people that lived in that wretched house...but I drove by it everyday and was constantly amazed at the amount of filth and rubble that seemed to literally ooze from that building. I agree with mhs...we (neighbors) could/should have done something about it by reporting them to the authorities. People are so afraid of being "snitches" that we complain and whine to each other and not to the agency that can actually do something aboout it. There is a fine line from "messy" to dangerous hoarding. Thousands of us passed that house everyday and did nothing. Its hard to not think that it was the tenants fault and they got what they deserved, but didn't the landlord ever drive by that building? Was it a section 8 building that the owner didn't give a sh*t about as long as the state check was coming in every month? I'm disgusted.

I complained to code enforcement a while back and got some lame reply about how they do not investigate neglected properties that are "not visible from the street." Not sure how they reached that conclusion from what I described to them.

I can only hope that code compliance will act quickly to make sure the owners clean up the burned out rat's nest and trash filled yard.

"My entire life is gone."

Years ago, my own apartment was consumed by fire & smoke; I was left with only the clothes on my back. I really feel for anyone who watches all their creature comforts & home go up in smoke. The experience is life changing.

I'm glad all the peeps got out safe; sometimes frightened animals will return days later (ours did, so don't give up yet).

I wish all of you the best as you start a "new chapter" & though it is a horrible experience, it can turn out to be positive. Be thankful for what is not gone...your lives!

Lara Bartlett escaped with her albino Burmese snake, kids, foster kids and...
__________

Geez ya guys whats with all the nasty comments ?? Ya really think a foster family isnt scrutinized well enough by Social Services to at least escape some of the harsh and judgmental comments thrown around here ???

ya know it takes a pretty clean and moral person to be a foster parent and be cleared by the state and county agencys . I highly doubt its a meth house and so on that some people are saying here . Come on lets be real here Ok ?

I google mapped this duplex, you can see clutter all around.

jimi doss wrote:

Lara Bartlett escaped with her albino Burmese snake, kids, foster kids and...
__________
Geez ya guys whats with all the nasty comments ?? Ya really think a foster family isnt scrutinized well enough by Social Services to at least escape some of the harsh and judgmental comments thrown around here ???
ya know it takes a pretty clean and moral person to be a foster parent and be cleared by the state and county agencys . I highly doubt its a meth house and so on that some people are saying here . Come on lets be real here Ok ?

P.S. you obviously never saw the place.....

BC resident wrote:

I don't know the people that lived in that wretched house...but I drove by it everyday and was constantly amazed at the amount of filth and rubble that seemed to literally ooze from that building. I agree with mhs...we (neighbors) could/should have done something about it by reporting them to the authorities. People are so afraid of being "snitches" that we complain and whine to each other and not to the agency that can actually do something aboout it. There is a fine line from "messy" to dangerous hoarding. Thousands of us passed that house everyday and did nothing. Its hard to not think that it was the tenants fault and they got what they deserved, but didn't the landlord ever drive by that building? Was it a section 8 building that the owner didn't give a **** about as long as the state check was coming in every month? I'm disgusted.

I live near there and the people there are constantly causing problems. Most of the adults were bullies. The finishing touch was the large rebel flag hanging on the side of the house.

Ah yes, the great humanitarians of the Sentinel forums have decided it's a great idea to publicly kick the crap out of some of their neighbors while they're down. Real nice. I don't know these people, but they ARE people and even more important they have KIDS who are probably not meth-heads, rednecks, or anything but children who just lost their home and pets. They're having a hard enough time of it -- kids who won't have a home for Thanksgiving. And now on top of that they have a bunch of anonymous jerks posting nasty stuff about their families?

Stop it. You're being jerks.

we all need to write in complaints to the foster care program concerning the welfare of our county's children and this horrible incident. Email this person, with the Foster Care Unit here in Santa Cruz county:

mandy.spitzer@hra.co.santa-cru z.ca.us

Contacting Sup. Stone is a thought as well, although I know from experience, he is not much help. All talk no help.

Creekan wrote:

Ah yes, the great humanitarians of the Sentinel forums have decided it's a great idea to publicly kick the crap out of some of their neighbors while they're down. Real nice. I don't know these people, but they ARE people and even more important they have KIDS who are probably not meth-heads, rednecks, or anything but children who just lost their home and pets. They're having a hard enough time of it -- kids who won't have a home for Thanksgiving. And now on top of that they have a bunch of anonymous jerks posting nasty stuff about their families?
Stop it. You're being jerks.

You are right, yes, they are now innocent children. Children who have been exposed to a terrible way of life and lifestyle and who will most likely grow up being meth-heads, rednecks. etc..Just as they are being taught. Look at their role models! Deplorable!

highway 9er wrote:

I complained to code enforcement a while back and got some lame reply about how they do not investigate neglected properties that are "not visible from the street." Not sure how they reached that conclusion from what I described to them.
I can only hope that code compliance will act quickly to make sure the owners clean up the burned out rat's nest and trash filled yard.

Not surprised at all. This county is useless.....

This forum is missing the point- thare are a bunch of kids who just had their life go up in flames. It's not their fault. Is there a fund yet at Valley Churches United for them yet? Yes, the house and yard were messy, but try walking a mile in their shoes. This is a disaster for people already teetering on the edge. I guess the only thing people hate more in this forum than Sanctuary Cities and immigration are poor people.

5genSC wrote:

<quoted text>
Is it "plane" disgusting? You hate planes too?

You are correct, I stand corrected. Sorry about the spelling error. Is that all you can contribute to this forum? By the way, I do hate planes... how did you know?