Burned wood and ashes is all that’s left of an apartment complex on South Oklahoma Road just outside Brownsville city limits.
That’s also what’s left of Carmen Marquez’s home after the complex caught on fire Friday.
Not only did the woman lose the roof over her head, she lost her vehicle as well, but it wasn't without a fight.
Her bandaged hands hide the wounds that prove it.
"I tried to take my car out of the driveway,” Marquez said. “But the flames came up and burned my hands. I couldn’t get it out."
Marquez said all her belongings, including personal documents, cell phone and even her money burned - everything was destroyed except the clothes on her back.
People who live nearby thought they might be next to be left out in the cold, as the raging fire threatened their homes as well.
"Well it's kind of scary you know,” Maria del Carmen Mata said, “because of the wind and the fire is catching with the grass."
It took six Brownsville fire trucks and two assisting from Los Fresnos to stop the fire from causing even more damage.
Brownsville Fire Chief Lenny Perez said crews had been at the complex earlier in the day, for a small grass fire that broke out when someone was burning trash.
However, Perez said those flames were extinguished and doesn't believe the two fires are related.
"According to my firefighters, they placed foam on (the first fire),” Perez said. “It's very hard for (fire) to reignite once you place foam on it, so we don’t know how it started the second time."
No official word yet on the cause of the destructive fire that took all of Marquez’s belongings.
Chief Perez said the blaze is a reminder that dry and windy conditions are optimal for sparking a blaze and spreading it.
If you would like to help Carmen Marquez you can call 956-264-4745.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKGBT