Amid America’s 250th, one stray firework left this Idaho family homeless

It’s the nightmare scenario for Boise-area homeowners every Fourth of July – and it happened to one Nampa family this year.

A single stray projectile from someone else’s fireworks display landed in their garbage, eventually setting their house on fire and changing their lives forever.

“I’m just glad I got my family out,” Lionel Meraz said in a phone call with the Idaho Statesman on Friday.

Last Saturday evening started as a fun celebration for the Meraz family. They set off their own fireworks in the street along with their neighbors in the Morningside subdivision. Meraz said his family was extra careful extinguishing their fireworks.

“We’ve done it every year,” Meraz said. “We’re in a great community, and this is one of our favorite holidays.”

Meraz, a painter, grew up in Nampa. After starting a family with his wife, Yussely, and living in a series of rentals, they bought their own home in 2018 — something they called a dream come true.

“I was raised here. I went to school here my whole life, and my whole life is here in Nampa,” Meraz said. “I wanted to give my kids an even better version of this very good life I’ve had here.”

There was much for the family to celebrate on Fourth of July weekend. Their eldest daughter Arianna’s quinceañera — a 15th birthday, which holds special significance in many Latino families — is just a few weeks away. Arianna and younger sister Cassandra just recently joined the Idaho Dirt Dogs softball team, both as pitchers. And Meraz’s sister-in-law is expecting to give birth to a baby girl.

By 11:30 p.m., the family had finished their show and plunged all of the spent husks of fireworks in a bucket of water in the driveway, so the family could sit on lawn chairs and watch the skies around them light up.

“When I went to bed, I knew everything was fine, but I couldn’t get the garbage can lid closed,” Meraz remembered.

Meraz said a smoldering projectile from one of the many booms and bangs that kept his sons awake must have landed in one of the trash bins, causing the fire to ignite.

At around 3:40 a.m., less than an hour after Lionel took out the garbage, the entire house was jolted awake by the sound of smoke alarms.

“We ran to my daughter’s room thinking they probably left a candle or something on, and then I turned one of her lights on, and I saw smoke on the ceiling,” Meraz said. “Then we turned our hallway light on, and the whole top of the hallway is full of fire.”

Meraz said he could feel the black smoke burn his throat as he managed to get his wife and four children to safety on the front lawn. After going back in and rescuing the family’s Australian sheperd, Benji, Meraz had enough time to move the family’s cars out of the garage before the heat became unbearable.

“By then I could see the fire had climbed up the side of the house and was burning the wall and the ceiling from the inside,” Meraz said.

At 3:51 a.m., the fire department was on the way. Meraz was still trying to fight flames with a garden hose when he noticed the family’s UTVs were being licked by flames.

“In my head,” Meraz said, “I’m like, ‘the gas tanks.’ I told my kids and my wife to get clear, back up the SUV, and maybe 10 seconds after we backed it up, (the other vehicles) blew up.”

When Nampa Fire Protection District Engine Six arrived at 3:56 a.m., Captain Aaron Billingsley noticed the family trailer had melted under the heat. Heavy flames had climbed the walls of the house and entered into the attic.

“The fire shot all the way to the top of the roof and burned the trusses to charcoal inside the attic,” Billingsley told the Statesman. “When we got up there we could see that alligator skin — the charred squares of burned wood, and knew those supports were compromised.”

When the fire was out at around 6 a.m., most of the ceiling above the living room had collapsed due to the weight of the water. Nampa Fire confirmed the blaze began in the trash cans, and all evidence suggests it was a firework.

Billingsley said his crews were able to save some of the family’s possessions with tarps and rugs, but the Merazes have been advised that any clothing or furniture that still smells like smoke needs to be disposed of.

“Today we’re going through all of our clothes to see what we can salvage,” Meraz said.

Fireworks and house fires

House fires can go from manageable accidents to full-blown catastrophes in a matter of minutes. Severely dry conditions this fire season have forced some fire districts in the Treasure Valley, like in Ada County, to temporarily ban fireworks altogether in high-risk areas.

“We see this a lot with cigarettes or hot coals from a fire,” Billingsley said. “When they end up in garbage cans or planters and begin smoldering, they end up starting fires hours later. Think of it like a campfire — anything retaining that heat should be kept separate, cold, and away from your house before throwing it away. Nothing beats a bucket of water.”

In situations like this, the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 804 in Nampa provides a “burnout fund” to help the family afford an Airbnb and some food while waiting for insurance to help.

“They have a lot of folks in that house, and when (Meraz) told me I thought to myself, ‘Whoa, this may not last them more than a few days,’ ” Billingsley said. “We try to give them the cash we carry on our rigs, at that moment they can get some help, even if it’s some food.”

Meraz said the family is holding up, but still in shock. His younger sons have repeatedly asked when they’ll be able to go home, but fire officials told the family that pending an independent investigation by the insurance company, the house will likely need to be torn down.

For now, the Merazes are staying in an Airbnb in Nampa. Meraz said his wife’s family and several neighbors have been jumping in to support while they wait for their insurance company to process their claim. A family friend has started a GoFundMe for anyone wishing to make donations to help the Merazes pay their deductible and for temporary housing.

“It still feels weird not driving home to your house after work,” Meraz said.

Arianna Meraz offered to cancel her quinceañera to support the family, but her dad says the celebration will be good for the family.

“She’s the oldest, and she’s taking it hard, but she’s been strong. We want to celebrate that strength,” Meraz said.