SPOKANE, Wash. — Two Spokane mothers are digging through the ashes and rubble of what used to be their home, hoping to find anything that can be saved.
The fire broke out over the weekend while both of them were home with their young sons.
“I want to go home. I want to go home. No, we can’t. You don’t have a home to go to. And he doesn’t understand,” said Lilly Lemoine, recounting the conversation with her three-year-old son after being displaced by the fire.
The fire left behind shattered windows and walls stained black with smoke. The two women lost nearly everything, but what matters most to them is that their loved ones, especially their sons, were spared.
” We were yelling fire… It was just a normal afternoon… my son he only had a pull up on and a shirt, no socks, no shoes no blanket, it is just all gone,” Lemoine said.
The fire started in the apartment below Lilly’s. It tore through her roof, leaving the place completely destroyed. “We lost everything and nothing is salvageable. Everything smells like smoke,” she said.
Her neighbor and friend Makayla Verhaag lived in the apartment next door. She evacuated her home with her mother and four-year-old son.
“He was very, very visibly shaken. Shaking like a leaf,” Verhaag said of her son.
The last few days have been a whirlwind of shock for the families – sorting through the wreckage, trying to piece together what comes next.
“When you go up there and you look at everything, it’s just kind of like your entire life. You never think it can happen to you, and it’s just gone,” Verhaag said.
When the fire broke out, the community jumped into action to save each other’s lives, showing the camaraderie of this neighborhood.
For Lemoine, watching her home burn was heartbreaking as this was a place of cherished memories and a sense of pride.
“I was very proud of it. Though small, it wasn’t in the area that my dad wanted me, and that was close to my work. I was very proud of it,” she said.
Despite this devastation, both women have expressed a positive outlook on the future.
The owner of the apartment that first caught fire is still in the hospital recovering from serious injuries.
The cause of the fire is still not known. Spokane Fire Department says the Red Cross is currently helping the families displaced by the fire.
Donations are being collected for both families at Just Imagine Child Care Center (406 E. Rowan Ave). For a full list of items needed, contact the daycare at 509-315-2547.
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