ST. FRANCISVILLE — Few things are more terrifying than when bad dreams turn into real-life nightmares.
Few people know that feeling better than Bo Butler who thought he was in the middle of a bad dream when his home caught on fire March 29th.
“I woke up at like four in the morning, and I thought I might have been dreaming. I heard smoke alarms going off, but I didn’t register it. I really thought I was dreaming, so I dozed back off, but the second time I woke up, I started coming to like realizing what was happening,” Butler told UWK.
Once reality set in, instincts took over. Butler lives in the home with his wife and three children, but fortunately, he was the only one there when the fire broke out.
His wife was working an overnight shift, and his three children were staying at their grandmother’s house.
In his panic, however, Butler forgot his children weren’t home. He rushed to their bedroom, desperately trying to pull them from the burning house.
“When I opened my door, I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. The house was completely smoked out. I crawled to the kids’ room, and I couldn’t see them, so I’m panicking. I can only see a flashing light in the corner of the ceiling, but that was the fire flashing through the smoke,” Butler said.
Butler eventually remembered he was alone and escaped the house to grab a hose.
“When I started spraying the water, that’s when the wind gusts started. I literally watched that fire start rolling hard, hard, like somebody was putting gas on it, and I just shook my head, like, ‘I can’t do nothing,’” Butler said.
Butler then began alerting his neighbors, starting with his aunt, who lived next door in a mobile home. By the time he knocked on her door, the plastic siding of her home had already begun melting. Fortunately, he was able to get everyone out safely.
By the time fire and emergency services arrived, it was too late. Butler said the house was fully engulfed in flames, and almost nothing was salvageable.
He believes the fire started in the ceiling and may have been caused by faulty electrical wiring.
After the fire, friends gave Butler some money, allowing his family to stay in a hotel for the night. The following Monday, Butler stayed at his mother’s house—only to face yet another disaster.
“I woke up this morning (Monday), and there were three feet of water in my mom’s house,” Butler said. “If it’s not one thing, it’s another.”
Friends of the Butler family will be hosting a boiled meat benefit on April 5 at noon at the Jungle Inn in St. Francisville. All proceeds will go toward helping the family rebuild their home and lives.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help support them, and organizers are asking for donations of clothing and shoes.
Butler said the outpouring of support has been overwhelming.
“I’m grateful. I want to sit down and write something heartfelt because it’s been breathtaking. I didn’t expect all these people to do as much as they’re doing,” Butler said.
The hardest part, Butler admitted, has been watching his children, especially his two young daughters, process everything. His daughters are four and seven years old, while his son is almost 15.
Butler said his daughter was asking if he was able to save any of her toys or clothing from the fire, but he told her that the only thing he was able to escape the fire with were his shoes, pants, and the family’s puppy.
“I was like, ‘Baby, you know the house and toys and all of that stuff are material.’ I was trying to explain to her about that, but she was like, ‘I don’t care about that. I care about when we did such and such, and when we were on the river, and we took the family picture.’ She was thinking of the memories—the real stuff—and that’s what got me and broke me down because she’s seven and has an adult mind frame on these things,” Butler said.
Despite losing his home and belongings, Butler said he sees it as a miracle that he was the only one home when the fire started. Moving forward, he plans to focus on what truly matters.
“I’m gonna keep pushing,” Butler said. “I ain’t gonna let it get me. I got these kids looking up, so I can’t let them see me down.”
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