The morning of Tuesday, August 21st, around 5 a.m., the San Rafael Fire Department responded to a call about a fire at an apartment complex at 516 Canal St. Approximately thirty-five firefighters, 20 support staff, and the department’s fireboat fought the fire, and once it was contained, eight people were injured, and two reported missing who were later found dead. At least 55 people were displaced, including members of several SRHS families, but authorities have yet to determine the cause of the fire. 

Because this apartment was located in the Canal, a neighborhood that is home to many San Rafael High School students, the school community has been impacted.

“I arrived at school early that morning and saw the glow of the fire and smoke from my car as I neared the lot,” says Andrew Simmons, an English teacher and the Off the Leash advisor. “I drove past the school, pulled over, and watched the firefighters spraying the flames.”

“My family almost moved in there because the apartments were so nice,” says Joselyn Pacheco, a freshman at SRHS, “And to think that if my family did move in there, we would’ve been the ones affected by it, crazy how things can happen.”

Pacheco didn’t wake up till later on, with the power out. She ended up going to check what was going on and saw many people standing on the street, including a lot of firefighters, police officers, and an ambulance. That’s when her mom told her there was a fire. She also noticed that many people were recording and spreading the news. “I saw that people from apartments across the street and around the area who weren’t affected were bringing food, drinks, and blankets to comfort those who were,” says Pacheco.

Pacheco’s mother, having a friend who lived in that building, brings her friend food to comfort her and help her while living in a shelter. 

Living in the apartment complex right next door, Martin Gomez, a freshman at San Rafael High, woke up to his panicked mother at 5:00 am, pointing out the window just to see the building right next door up in flames. As he and the rest of his family ran back and forth, unsure of what to do, they went outside, while other neighbors kept knocking on doors trying to wake everyone up so they’d get out too. “The fire was slowly approaching his building, and some of it was slightly starting to burn, ” Gomez says.

While also trying to reach safety himself, Gomez saw people trying to get over their balconies. Some people, desperate to reach safety, decided to jump into the Canal Creek mud to escape the fire. One of those people ended up getting treated for a severe leg injury after jumping from the second floor because they could not see that there was no water under them. 

According to the Marin Independent Journal, one of the missing bodies was identified as 62-year-old Tracey Lee Lowmiller. After reviewing the ABC News coverage of this event Carlos De La Cruz was asked by a ABC News reporter about what he saw while happening and he told the reporter that he called 911 while being on the other side of Canal seeing the flames start from a corner on the lower level and then called again when he saw “a woman trying to escape from the fire and unfortunately as she was trying to jump of the balcony she fell,” believing that’s who he saw and even pointing out where Lowmiller lived. She grew up in the SR community and was a TLHS alum.

“Honestly, when I woke up that morning and saw the smoke, I thought it was just really cloudy, but later that day, my mom told me there was a fire at some apartments,” says Vanessa Morales, a senior at SRHS. “And besides that, I haven’t really heard anything else.”

The 55 survivors, who lived there and made it out uninjured, lost everything they had. They woke up from their sleep to run out of their homes in worry and disbelief, watching their lives burn up in a fire. They reported praying and thanking God they made it out alive, and wondering how and why this happened to them. Shelters opened up, with the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross providing support. In addition to shelter support, some victims are staying in hotels while they await further developments.

To help out, you can donate to The Client Support Fund, which can be found through the Canal Alliance website: https://donate.canalalliance.org/campaign/718853/donate, and The Marin Community Foundation has launched the Canal Residents Emergency Fund. More information can be found through: https://donationcenter.marincf.org/fund/57