Community Comes Together to Help Ventura Family Rebuild after Arson Fire

A Ventura Family is rebuilding with help not only from friends but strangers as well.

In June of this year, police say the Baker’s house on the 900 block of Burlington Avenue in Ventura was purposely set on fire. Not only was the home a total loss, but the father of the home, Curt Baker was killed following a heart attack he suffered trying to escape the flames. This all happened while the family was grieving the death of their son who had just lost his battle to spinal cord cancer.

Even after going through all this. They are still looking at the positive.

“I have it all in my heart so much gratitude, but all I can do is say it,” said Nellie Baker.

“My favorite saying right now is we have not been lucky, but we have been blessed and for that we are very grateful,” said Jana Cooksey, daughter of Nellie Baker.

Nellie and Curt Baker lost their son, David, to cancer 25 days before the fire. Nellie and Curt brought David into their home as he became bound to a wheelchair.

Bringing people into their home and helping them was something the Baker family regularly did. Nellie Baker ran a board and care home for mentally ill women for 52 years.

The Baker family believes that one of the women Nellie cared for started the fatal fire inside their home.

At this point the Ventura Police Department have not made any arrest and the investigation is on-going. Police have confirmed that the fire is arson, and that it started from inside the house.

The fire started in the garage of the home. Nellie and Curt Baker were sleeping in their master bedroom right above the garage when the fire broke out. When Nellie awoke to the smell of smoke and the flames, she tried to help her husband get out of the house.

“I went up to my husband and tried to get him down, and he says no honey. You leave me I am too tired. He says you save yourself. There was no way I was every going to leave him, so I rolled him onto my legs and we went down the stairs,” said Nellie Baker

Curt Baker was removed from the house with the help of Nellie, neighbors and firefighters. He made it to the hospital but passed away a few days later.

It was in the hospital that Nellie realized she had lost everything.

“I had no insurance. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I thought, I am homeless, I am homeless,” said Nellie Baker.

Nellie’s cries for help did not go unanswered. Diego Garcia, a general contractor, did not know the Baker family, but when he heard their story, he wanted to help.

Over the course of a little more than a month, he gathered the support of several others in the community. HD Supply agreed to donate the building materials, and more than a dozen construction workers are donating their time and supplies.

“Not many people do things for free anymore for anybody. So it meant a lot to see people get behind me and help me with this. So yeah everybody is donating their time,” said Garcia.

“We have just been blessed, we have totally been blessed,” said Nellie Baker.

Diego Garcia of Bodagger Builders says there is still so much work that needs to be done on the Baker house. Anyone who would like to help him can contact him at 805-647-0349

The family has also set upa You Caring account where you can donate. The link is http://www.youcaring.com/other/baker-family-rebuild/198663

There is also a Wells Fargo account that anyone can deposit into. It’s under “Baker Family Rebuild”, and the account number is 7700112472

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