Elderly couple married 56 years killed in fire

An elderly couple who’d been married 56 years died together Monday night as their mobile home became engulfed in fire.

Stanislaus County sheriff’s Deputy Royjindar Singh said firefighters were called to a property in the 700 block of Ruble Road a little before midnight.

The first 911 caller reported seeing flames up to 10 feet high and the structure was engulfed when crews from Mountain View Fire District arrived.

Firefighters “were unable to go inside and perform any type of rescue,” Singh said. He said they found the bodies of two people after extinguishing the fire.

Ambar Hernandez identified the people as her grandparents, Miguel and Armida Rodriguez, both 76.

She said they lived in a mobile home on the property, a ranch, and their daughter and son-in-law lived in the main house.

The couple grew up in Texas but moved to California, where they had four children. They’d moved back to Texas for a few years recently but eight months ago moved in with their daughter to be close to family, most of whom live in the Bay Area, Hernandez said.

In addition to their children, Miguel and Armida Rodriguez are survived by six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Hernandez said her grandfather owned a business making drapes and reupholstering furniture.

“He loved to ride horses; he was a Charro back in the day,” Hernandez said. “My grandma, she was just my grandma; loved her cooking and (she was) always there for us.”

She said she and a cousin were talking about how, “Grandpa and grandpa, they were just so cool, you can talk to them about anything.”

An origin and cause of the fire remained under investigation, but Singh said it did not appear suspicious.

Hernandez said her mom was asleep inside the main house when the fire broke out. She was alerted to the fire by a neighbor across the street who was yelling from the outside a closed gate while the family’s dogs were barking and pawing at the front door.

On Tuesday morning the family picked through the remnants of the mobile home. Not much was salvageable, but they found the couple’s Bible mostly intact but for a few singed edges.

“They always read the Bible, so it’s a big message for us,” said family friend Maria Rodriguez.

This story was originally published December 6, 2016 at 11:41 AM with the headline "Elderly couple married 56 years killed in fire."