What we lost, what hurts me the most, is that we lost our sense of security. We lost our permanence.”

Serena Moseman-Valtierra

Looking for a rental in Barrington

Serena Moseman-Valtierra said officials are still quantifying the extent of the home’s damages.

“It is clearly going to be a very long process,” she said. “It was bad. It was bad that right away that they told us we could not re-occupy it for a year, at least. There was structural damage to the basement, where the fire originated. And the rest of the home either had walls busted by the fire department to save it or had extensive smoke damage.

“We very much want to restore it properly. If for nothing else then to due diligence to this community. And we’re fortunate to have insurance as responsible homeowners.

“We’re still waiting to get estimates on how long and how much everything will cost, but our insurance allows us to rent while it’s being repaired.”

She said the family is looking for a long-term rental, one that would cover at least one year.

“Our only wish is that we can get a break with housing. If we can get a lead somewhere in town, we would very much like to stay in town,” she said.

Anyone who might have more information about rental homes in Barrington is asked to write to valtierrahomefinders@gmail.com

It has been a difficult past few years for Barrington’s Valtierra family. 

In Oct. 2018, Robert Valtierra suffered a stroke after a dental procedure. It left him physically challenged to complete the simplest of tasks — walking and speaking went from everyday activities to intense struggles. 

Then, six months later, Robert’s wife Serena Moseman-Valtierra was diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer. For two years she battled the cancer, knocking it back to the point where she was able to stop her treatments last June. 

But the respite was short-lived. 

On Saturday, Dec. 4, a fire broke out at the Valtierra family’s home on Alfred Drown Road. The fire started in the basement of the historic home, and spread quickly through the walls and floors. The three-alarm blaze left the home badly damaged and completely unlivable.  

That final blow to the Valtierras might have been too much to take, had it not been for the outpouring of support shown by the Valtierra family’s neighbors in the Alfred Drown area of Barrington. 

“I have honestly felt, though I’m not a very spiritual person, that they are angels surrounding me,” Ms. Moseman-Valtierra said during an interview last weekend. “They are angels.”

Ms. Moseman-Valtierra said she and her family had been out running errands Saturday afternoon, Dec. 4 when the fire started. As they drove home, a fire truck passed by them. 

“… as we pulled toward our driveway there was already a fire truck there, and police cars, and police were walking toward neighbors’ doors trying to find the occupants of the home,” she said. “After I spoke to the police they directed us to move our car down the street to be out of the smoke. And so we had nowhere to go, except to sit in our car and wait. So I called a friend in Bristol with whom we had had dinner plans. She rushed over, but in the meantime, this nice woman who I never met in person until this event, her name is Karen, happened to be driving by. She pulled over when she saw our car, probably seeing the smoke in the background, and said ‘Oh my God, are you OK?’ I said ‘Our house is on fire, I don’t know who to call. Our family is in California. Can you please put something on the list-serve? Because we need help.’

“I think Karen promptly posted a call for help on the community list-serve, which is always very active and well-organized. But in the meantime, she seemed to return quite quickly because I don’t remember a long absence. And she took us into her home, so that we had a place to wait for several hours for the firefighters to keep fighting (the fire).”

Karen and her family had Robert and Serena and their daughter over for dinner that night — “They offered spaghetti bolognese, but we settled for pizza,” Ms. Moseman-Valtierra said, adding that another neighbor offered her family use of a cottage on his property. 

“And Brian (the owner of the cottage) immediately gave us flexibility for staying as long as we needed. Even though I am sure he had other plans with the coming holidays. He must have altered them for us. And he has been organizing ever since a network, an extensive network, of volunteers who want to provide help with food. They provided most of the clothing that we’re wearing.”

Ms. Moseman-Valtierra said the outpouring of help, with meals and clothes and lodging, has been overwhelming. 

“I am mortified to have to need their help for this third life crisis,” she said. “I dearly hope to be on the other end soon, paying it forward. And maybe the way we’ll do that is restoring the home properly I hope, very much.”

She also thanked all her neighbors for helping out their daughter. “That’s been everyone’s top concern.”

Challenge coins found

Ms. Moseman-Valtierra said her husband was particularly concerned about losing his challenge coins in the fire — he earned the coins during his military service. Mr. Valtierra began serving in the Marines and later transferred to the Navy Reserves, where he served as an officer. 

Ms. Moseman-Valtierra said the coins had been located in the exercise room of the house where Robert has been working out ever since he suffered the stroke.

“So they were recovered,” she said. “The thing that was amazing about it, was that night that he mentioned being fearful of losing (the coins), we did not yet know the fate, but Brian, our host, brought in for Robert this challenge coin which he made at his work, and it contains a part of the Twin Towers. It was made from steel that came from the Twin Towers and he offered it to Robert as a symbol of the promise to rebuild. So the next day I was able to go back and I found that they (the other challenge coins) were untouched, and now we have this very, very meaningful one.”

Sadly, the family lost two rabbits in the fire, and one of their two cats is still missing. Ms. Moseman-Valtierra said Lucky, a Maine coon cat, was seen following the fire, so she knows it was alive. But they have been unable to track down Lucky.

Ms. Moseman-Valtierra was particularly sad about the loss of the rabbits.

“One was a Flemish giant, beautiful. We only adopted them a year ago. That was a hard loss for me. I’m a crazy bunny lady. I’m a biologist. We did save these silly fiddler crabs,” she said, pointing to a tank inside the cottage. “They’re not really my pets, but I have them nonetheless. I’m a biologist and these were shipped by accident to my department at the university. And I couldn’t bear to just let them die, so I brought them to (her daughter’s school) and they toured the school. (Then came back.) So they were in the house and they survived.”

Ms. Moseman-Valtierra said she has been back to the house, but it is still not safe enough to take Robert there. She said she is confident her family will be able to salvage items from the home’s interior, eventually.

“What we lost, what hurts me the most, is that we lost our sense of security. We lost our permanence,” she said. “And even prior to coming to Barrington we had moved so many times for Robert’s career and my education. We were desperate to settle down. We had so many hardships and now finally we’re forced to leave the house.”

A GoFundMe page has been established to help the family.