“Every time I breathe I just smell smoke. Even when I’m not home, I smell smoke. It’s like it’s stuck in my lungs.”
A Baton Rouge home is unlivable after a fire on October 17, only a few weeks after the son was a victim of a hit and run.
Cassie Sisco’s 14-yr-old son was hit by a car as he was getting off his school bus in September. Now, not long after that incident, the family has lost their home.
“A car ran and hit him. Luckily his friend was there to pull him back or they would have hit his complete body…I think he is kind of traumatized by vehicles,” Sisco said.
Then, a month later, Sisco awoke to the smell of smoke during the night and realized her porch was in flames.
She woke everyone in the home and escaped, but much of their home was engulfed by the flames.
“It could have taken maybe five or ten more minutes and if I wouldn’t have woke up, I wouldn’t have been able to get to my children,” she said.
After Sisco, her four children, boyfriend, sister and her son escaped, her boyfriend ran to spray the mobile home with the water hose.
Once her children were safe, Sisco went back into the home to rescue her dog and two cats.
“I went back in and I found my dog. And I came out because I couldn’t breathe. I was like I can’t get the cats. Luckily, he (her boyfriend) was able to go in and get them. So he ended up basically saving the day because if it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t have any rooms to live in,” she said
The fire destroyed the majority of their home, and the family has been trying to live with friends for the past two weeks.
Sisco said, “My kids are confused. They’re wondering why was their home half burnt down and why they can’t be home.”
Recently, the family has been living in Sisco’s room since the fire damage was the least there.
They do not have funds to repair the damage to the house so they have started a GoFundMe page to raise the money they need.
You can find their GoFundMe HERE.
According to Sisco, there is a large hole in the roof, black soot and tar cover the home and they have lost almost all of their furniture and clothes.
“I’ve been going to Goodwill trying to find stuff, but I haven’t found much. I’m just trying to slowly get it all back,” she said.
The school has donated two uniforms to each child, but they still need other necessities.
Even though they have lost most of their belongings, Sisco says she is just happy they are all safe.
“I’m just happy that my kids are safe and that we’re safe because these things are replaceable. I’m blessed to be able to tell this story because fires happen all the time and we don’t realize it because we aren’t involved in it. Then when it happens, it makes us more aware of like, ‘Wow, people lose their lives all the time over this’,” she stated.
Neighbors have stepped forward to help since she has little close family.
One neighbor, Matt McCool, has helped her rebuild and clean since the home fire.
She said, “He’s been the one that has came and helped me put it all together. If it wasn’t for him, we would be sitting in a burnt house.”
The oldest boy is 14 years old and wears a size 14-16 in clothes and a size eight shoe. His uniform is khaki pants and a navy top.
Another son is age six. He wears a size six in clothes and a size 12 in shoes. His uniform is a maroon top and navy bottoms.
The youngest boy is five years old and wears a size five in clothes and 11 in shoes. His uniform is navy pants and a navy top.
The daughter is two years old and wears a size 3t in clothes and sizes six to seven for shoes.
The clothing can be donated in the driveway at this address: 15546 S. Post Oak CT., Green Well Springs LA 70739.
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