Fire victims ‘need everything’
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, December 6, 2011
An Onycha woman and her daughter lost their home and a car to a fire Friday night, and now the community’s help is needed to help them recover.
OFD assistant chief Ernie DePri-nzio said the department was called to Sumter Lane near David Road to a trailer fire shortly after 10 p.m.
“We responded to a fully engulfed trailer,” he said. “The fire started in the kitchen with a fire in the stove. Everything was a total loss.”
DePrinzio said it took two hours to get the fire under control, but it “rekindled” and they had to extinguish it again around 12:45 a.m.
“The daughter came home and helped get the mom out,” he said of how the fire was discovered initially.
Angela Worley said she found her mother, Joyce Lopez, and they got out safely.
“My mother has a few broken ribs,” she said. “But we had no home insurance.”
Don Johnson, interim director with the Covington County Chapter of the Red Cross, said the family also lost a car in the fire.
“We’ve put them in a hotel for three nights,” he said. “They still need lodging in the meantime, so I’ve referred them to other organizations such as the St. Vincent De Paul Society, Salvation Army and Covington Baptist Association.”
Worley said the she and her mother have another trailer, and they are in the process of getting the electricity turned on at it, so they can move in there.
“We do need household items,” she said. “We lost everything. My mother and I do have a couple of jogging suits, and (Monday night was) our last night in the hotel.”
Worley said the family needs blankets, dishes, furniture, anything anyone can spare.
Anyone who would like donate to the family, may call 334-764-5680.