Their home survived the fires, but there's still danger everywhere

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Their Home Survived the Fires, But There's Still Danger Everywhere"

Podcast Information:

• Title: Consider This from NPR
• Host/Author: NPR
• Episode Title: Their Home Survived the Fires, But There's Still Danger Everywhere
• Release Date: January 24, 2025

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1. Introduction

In this poignant episode of NPR's Consider This, host Ailsa Chang delves into the lingering challenges faced by residents of Altadena following devastating fires. While some homes, like that of Jennifer and Ed Bargiorna, miraculously escaped destruction, the community grapples with ongoing dangers and the emotional toll of recovery.

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2. The Bargiorna Family's Narrow Escape

Ailsa Chang opens the episode by introducing Jennifer and Ed Bargiorna, whose home narrowly avoided complete destruction by the recent fires.

Jennifer Bargiorna (00:20): "It's unimaginable, the devastation and the number of lives that have been impacted just down the road."

Ed echoes her sentiments, expressing a mix of gratitude and helplessness.

Ed Bargiorna (00:31): "Obviously, we value having our home, but you also feel a bit helpless because you know that there are people just down the block who need help. There's nothing we can do at the moment, and that's really hard."

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3. Immediate Aftermath and Returning Home

As evacuation orders lifted, many residents, including the Bargiarenas, returned to assess their homes. The contrast between surviving properties and destroyed neighborhoods highlighted the uneven impact of the fires.

Ailsa Chang (01:02): "Their home is in Altadena, and this community is hurting so deeply for the ones who lost everything. But for families like the Bargiarenas, the seemingly lucky ones whose houses survived, an altogether different ordeal is just beginning."

Upon returning, Jennifer describes the surreal experience of seeing her home intact amidst the surrounding chaos.

Jennifer Bargiorna (02:38): "Nervous. And then amazed. Everything was still standing. Everything looked relatively normal as I came around the corner. Many of my neighbors were also just coming back, and for that was joyful."

She emphasizes the strength of the community over the physical structure of their home.

Jennifer Bargiorna (02:56): "For me, that was probably my biggest takeaway from coming back, because I think in the end, this house is not our home. This community is our home."

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4. Hidden Dangers Post-Fire

Despite their home's survival, the Bargiarenas face unseen threats from lingering toxins and structural damages. The episode highlights concerns about water safety, ash contamination, and the integrity of home systems.

Ailsa Chang (01:21): "The water here still isn't safe to drink, cook, or wash with. There are fine layers of ash and dust in people's homes and yards."

Jennifer and Ed discuss the potential infiltration of harmful substances like lead and asbestos.

Ed Bargiorna (01:14): "Exactly. And you can't see, like, not every toxin is obvious."

Inside their home, they find remnants of their lives frozen in time, underscoring the abruptness of their evacuation.

Ed Bargiorna (04:00): "Christmas tree is still up. Here's the card game we were playing on the table before we left."

The family confronts the extensive remediation required to ensure their home's safety.

Jennifer Bargiorna (04:37): "What we're understanding is where a lot of ash, soot and toxins will settle. And I believe that's part of remediation is that that will all be cleaned and replaced."

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5. Navigating Insurance and Future Uncertainties

The episode sheds light on the bureaucratic hurdles faced by survivors in securing insurance claims and temporary housing.

Jennifer Bargiorna (05:47): "At the moment, we're on hold until they can physically send an adjuster to our site. When I spoke with the person assigned to our claim yesterday, they could not give me a window of time."

This uncertainty forces many, including the Bargiarenas, to seek temporary accommodations, adding stress to their recovery process.

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6. The Resilience of the Altadena Community

Despite the hardships, the Bargiarenas express unwavering hope and a deep sense of community. They acknowledge the strength derived from their neighbors and the bonds that have persisted through adversity.

Ed Bargiorna (06:23): "I think we would take Altadena with us and we would try to make that sense of community come to life anywhere we go."

He underscores the enduring spirit of Altadena, highlighting everyday acts of neighborly support.

Ed Bargiorna (06:39): "People still care about each other. I can still borrow eggs from my neighbor. I can go further down the street and borrow a truck if I need to go get mulch."

Jennifer concurs, recognizing that the true essence of home lies in the community rather than the physical structures.

Jennifer Bargiorna (02:56): "This community is our home."

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7. Conclusion

As the episode wraps up, Ailsa Chang reflects on the uncertain future for Altadena's residents. While the fires have subsided, the path to complete recovery remains fraught with challenges. The story of the Bargiarenas serves as a testament to the resilience and solidarity of communities in the face of natural disasters.

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Notable Quotes:

• Jennifer Bargiorna (02:38): "Nervous. And then amazed. Everything was still standing."
• Ed Bargiorna (05:12): "You can look at just... the amount of tiny things. My son has a lifetime of Legos there and it's like, whoa, who's going to clean all that?"
• Ed Bargiorna (06:39): "People still care about each other. I can still borrow eggs from my neighbor."

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Production Credits:

• Produced by: Michael Levitt and Connor Donovan
• Audio Engineering: Jimmy Keeley and Kwesi Lee
• Edited by: Christopher Intagliata and Courtney Dorning
• Executive Producer: Sami Yenigun

This summary excludes introductory and concluding segments, advertisements, and other non-content elements to focus solely on the episode's core narrative and insights.

Transcript

[Ailsa Chang]

A single block and a half separates the home of Jennifer and Ed Bargiorna from complete destruction.

[Ed Bargiorna]

Yeah, just down this block to the next stop sign, which is Lincoln Avenue. Yeah, just across that border. It's completely devastating.

[Ailsa Chang]

And right behind us are rows of intact houses.

[Jennifer Bargiorna]

It's unimaginable, the devastation and the number of. And the number of lives that have been impacted just down the road.

[Ed Bargiorna]

Yeah, that's what I was going to say. Obviously, we value having our home, but you also feel a bit helpless because you know that there are people just down the block who need help. There's nothing we can do at the moment, and that's really hard.

[Ailsa Chang]

Their home is in Altadena, and this community is hurting so deeply for the ones who lost everything. But for families like the Bargiarenas, the seemingly lucky ones whose houses survived, an altogether different ordeal is just beginning.

[Ed Bargiorna]

Part of our concern is making sure that, you know, what we're coming back to is a place that's not just whole, but safe and stable for our family.

[Unknown Interviewer]

You don't know what you don't know yet.

[Ed Bargiorna]

Exactly. And you can't see, like, not every toxin is obvious.

[Ailsa Chang]

Consider this. The water here still isn't safe to drink, cook, or wash with. There are fine layers of ash and dust in people's homes and yards. And families like the Bargi Arenas are also worried about what they can't see. The possibility that toxins like lead and asbestos might have drifted into their homes. From npr, I'm Ailsa Chang. It's. Consider this from npr. As evacuation orders are lifted, people in Los Angeles are returning to their homes, if their homes survived. But you know, the disaster, it doesn't end when the fire stops. We wanted to hear from a family figuring out what comes next. And that's how I found myself standing on the driveway of Jennifer and Ed Bargiorna. They share their tidy green home with their two boys, 11 and 14. Their front yard opens to a soaring view of the San Gabriel Mountains. And I asked Jennifer, how did you feel when driving back to your house for the first time since the fires?

[Jennifer Bargiorna]

Nervous. And then amazed. Everything was still standing. Everything looked relatively normal as I came around the corner. Many of my neighbors were also just coming back, and for that was joyful.

Hugging everyone, just knowing that they were safe, that their family was safe. For me, that was probably my biggest takeaway from coming back, because I think in the end, this house is not our home. This community is our home. I'm a bit of a crier.

[Unknown Interviewer]

No, don't worry. At all home is bigger than this structure in front of us.

[Jennifer Bargiorna]

And then I will say, then when we went into our house, it's both eerie and amazing. It smells like a campfire. There's ashen soot around doors and windows, but in general it looks normal.

[Unknown Interviewer]

Well, do you mind us walking in for just a little bit?

[Ed Bargiorna]

Sure, we're happy to do that. Yeah.

[Unknown Interviewer]

Okay. Oh, your wreath hook is still there.

[Ed Bargiorna]

Okay, so here we are. You can see we accidentally left a couple lights on.

[Unknown Interviewer]

Oh, your Christmas tree is still up.

[Ed Bargiorna]

Christmas tree is still up. Here's the card game we were playing on the table before we left.

[Ailsa Chang]

Oh my God.

[Unknown Interviewer]

It's like.

[Ed Bargiorna]

And we just left everything. We said, it's time to go now. And we just walked out.

[Jennifer Bargiorna]

Wow.

[Unknown Interviewer]

It's like a freeze frame.

[Ailsa Chang]

Jennifer leads me to the kitchen window and pulls up the shade.

[Jennifer Bargiorna]

You can see.

[Unknown Interviewer]

Oh, yeah.

[Jennifer Bargiorna]

When you look up there, all along.

[Unknown Interviewer]

The windowsill, the window frame, all of.

[Jennifer Bargiorna]

This against the glass. I think we probably, we closed all the windows and all the old windows, all the old doors. That's where we see there's visible evidence of soot. I'd say our biggest concerns are, do you want to go to the back of our house?

[Ailsa Chang]

She leads me to her son's room where the winds crack the little door to the attic.

[Jennifer Bargiorna]

That is where what we're understanding is where a lot of ash, soot and toxins will settle. And I believe that's part of remediation is that that will all be cleaned and replaced. And that's probably where a lot of the smell came in.

[Unknown Interviewer]

And you know, there's also stuff that we can't see right here just standing in a room. I'm thinking about the insulation, I'm thinking about your H vac system, all the stuff that still has to work years from now if you were to live in this house.

[Ed Bargiorna]

Right?

[Jennifer Bargiorna]

Absolutely, absolutely.

[Ed Bargiorna]

So there's. Those systems need to be checked and cleaned and verified. And you know, you can look at just. It's just the amount of tiny things. My son has a lifetime of Legos there and it's like, whoa, who's going to clean all that? So it's just the process of making sure that every surface is safe so that when you touch something in the future, you're not worried about it.

[Ailsa Chang]

They lead me back outside and I ask them what sort of timeline their insurance company has given them on next steps.

[Jennifer Bargiorna]

At the moment, we're on hold until they can physically send an adjuster to our site. When I spoke with the person assigned to our claim yesterday, they could not give me a window of time. So us, like tens of thousands of Angelenos at this moment, are scrambling to find temporary housing. But are we looking for short term, temporary, long term temporary? How do we settle our family in a way that stops making this an emergency for weeks and months moving ahead?

[Unknown Interviewer]

Yeah, I guess, given all that you've been going through, you know, I can hear how much you love this community. You love the people who live around you. But do you actually see a real future for yourself in this neighborhood long term?

[Ed Bargiorna]

That's a complicated question. I think part of it is maybe too early to know that for sure because I don't think we have taken in the true devastation that's happened here. I think one thing would be for sure, though. If we were to leave, I think we would take Altadena with us and we would try to make that sense of community come to life anywhere we go, because we know it can work. And we know this is kind of, you know, one of those American ideals that we maybe think we've lost, but it's still here. People still care about each other. I can still borrow eggs from my neighbor. I can go further down the street and borrow a truck if I need to go get mulch. It's like that kind of living and that kind of connectivity and that social bond is still something that is worth fighting for and building. So whether we stay here or not, I think Altadena lives on in the places that we move to next.

[Unknown Interviewer]

You've learned how to build and hang on to community.

[Ed Bargiorna]

Absolutely.

[Unknown Interviewer]

Fires did not destroy that.

[Ed Bargiorna]

Yeah.

[Unknown Interviewer]

I just want to say thank you to both of you so much for coming down here from your Airbnb and meeting with us on your driveway to talk about something so painful and frustrating. Really. Thank you.

[Ed Bargiorna]

We appreciate that. Thank you for helping us tell the story that represents an entire community.

[Jennifer Bargiorna]

Yeah. Thanks for speaking for our neighbors, Ed and Jennifer Barghiarena.

[Ailsa Chang]

Reflecting on what the future holds for those still left in Altadena. This episode was produced by Michael Levitt and Connor Donovan, with audio engineering by Jimmy Keeley and Kwesi Lee. It was edited by Christopher Intagliata and Courtney Dorning, our executive producer and is Sami Yenigun. And as we wrap the week, a big thank you to our Consider this Plus listeners who support this show. If that's not you, it could be supporters also. Hear every episode without sponsor messages. Learn more at the link in our episode notes. It's Consider this from npr. I'm Ilsa Chang.