A Granlibakken employee suffered burns on his face and hands while rescuing his four children from a fire that broke out in his apartment on Granlibakken Conference Center and Lodge property early Monday morning. While there were no fatalities, the historic building was destroyed, along with all of the family’s belongings.
Dave Zaski, public information officer for the North Tahoe Fire Protection District, which responded to the fire, said the fire started at approximately 4:30 a.m. in the family’s apartment, which is a dormitory used as employee housing. The fire department is investigating the fire, and did not know the cause at the time of this report.
There were seven people — two Granlibakken employees, a spouse, and four children — who were in the building at the time of the fire. Gabrielle Cuevas, 28, heard the fire alarm go off, then woke his children up and got them out. Zaski said the smoke detectors saved their lives, and a firewall saved an adjoining apartment.
Zaski said Cuevas has five children, but there were only four children — between the ages of 5 and 10 — who were in the building at the time. Two other employees were in the neighboring apartment. A neighbor called 911.
“The dad risked his life to save his kids,” Zaski said. “That’s heroic.”
Cuevas suffered burns to his face and hands and was treated for smoke inhalation by North Tahoe Fire paramedics on scene. He was then transported to CareFlight at the Tahoe City golf course, and from there to Renown Hospital in Reno. He was released from Renown around noon, according to Zaski. The family is currently staying in Reno, and Granlibakken will offer both families a place to live. Red Cross will also provide needed items to the family. Zaski said Renown employees donated 10 toys for the children, who lost all their Christmas presents.
Zaski said all the occupants were out of the building by the time firefighters responded to the scene, and that the fire was put out in 10 minutes. No one else was hurt in the fire, and Granlibakken is open for business. In addition to North Tahoe Fire, both the Squaw Valley and Truckee fire departments responded.
Madeline Ross, marketing director for Granlibakken, said the building where the fire occurred is a historic building by the ski hill. She said the fire alarms saved lives, but could not comment on anything else. She did note that Granlibakken and the fire department are holding a clothing and toy drive for the family, and that clothing and shoes are the most needed items at this time.
Zaski noted that working smoke detectors are important, and that the children had gone through a fire safety program at Tahoe Lake Elementary and remembered to crawl underneath the smoke.
