DENHAM SPRINGS — A Denham Springs family is left with nothing following a weekend house fire and are now living in a hotel. It happened on Sunday night on Benton Road in Denham Springs. It was the first of two fires Sunday night. A second one in Denham Springs (Watson), left three firefighters injured.
MORE: Three firefighters injured battling Watson fire
Firefighters say it appears the fire started in a barbecue pit, and the home is a total loss. Thankfully, no one was hurt as they escaped with minutes to spare.
Mia Quebedeaux tells UWK her dad Keith had just finished cooking on the grill and she, her boyfriend, their infant child, Quebedeaux’s brother and father had all just sat to the dinner table when someone started banging on the door.
“She’s said, ‘Your stairs are on fire.’ I said, ‘What?’ So I start going down there and I see the bottom of the stairs are on fire. My dad opens our laundry room door that leads to a second pair of stairs on the side of our house, and flames were already all the way up there. So black smoke just came all in our house,” Quebedeaux said.
Quebedeaux’s two brothers also live with her, her boyfriend Jesse and their infant child at their dad’s home. None of them had any time to grab anything.
“I lost my phone, my dad lost his phone. I lost my keys. My dad lost wallet, everything. We all just ran out the house. My dog got out, me and the baby, everybody got out the house safely,” she added. She said she did go inside after firefighters cleared the scene but everything was burnt including her car keys and wallet with her ID’s inside.
For now, everyone is living in rooms at a local hotel and friends of the family have helped them by setting up a GoFundMe to raise money for the family. Keith, Mia’s father, was the sole provider for his kids, and lost everything, including his truck. Now, he doesn’t have a way to get to work.
Nonetheless, Quebedeaux says they’re beyond thankful to be alive and had it not been for that woman who happened to see the fire, she says it could have been much worse.
“It wasn’t even a neighbor. She was just driving right by the stop sign and she saw it. Thank God she came and said something. Or it could have been a completely different story,” she said.
On top of raising money for the family, friends are also collecting clothes, shoes, and baby items to help the family get back on its feet. The family needs:
- Men’s Shirts – M, XL
- Men’s Pants – 30/32 , 36/30
- Women’s Shirts- L
- Women’s Pants – 14
- Baby Girl – 0/3 months, 3/6 months
- Diapers – size 2
- Formula – Similac Sensitive / Dark orange can
- Men’s shoe sizes – 8.5, 10, 11
- Women’s shoe size – 8
Donations can be dropped off at: 35285 Curtis Dr. in Denham Springs.
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