Fire Victims Struggle Months After Losing Everything

A Good Friday fire left Ashanti Garnett and her family with nothing but the clothes on their backs. In the early morning hours, flames destroyed their home and nearly everything they owned. Months later, Garnett, her husband, and their four-year-old daughter are still trying to rebuild, not only a house, but a sense of normalcy. For now, the family is living in a rented room and stretching every dollar as they work to get back on their feet. Garnett says they are grateful to be alive, but the road to recovery has been difficult. Tonight, she is asking the public for help, whether through building materials, household items, or financial support, as her family tries to turn tragedy into a fresh start.

 

Ashanti Garnett, Fire Victim

“It was one a.m.  when I woke up. Me and the baby, we were sleeping in the room. My husband, he’s a security at night, so he wasn’t here. I got up normal, like how you would to get a drink of water, and I saw the entire half of the house was under flame, so I just got my baby and we ran out of the house. She had suffered a bit, not too serious, but a bit of unconsciousness due to the smoke, so I came to my neighbor. Well, we called police and everything. Actually, when I had made the report, they had told me that because the house was burning for so long, people had already been calling it in, but nobody knew that we were in there because the vehicle wasn’t here.”

 

Britney Gordon

“And do you know what started the fire?”

 

Ashanti Garnett

“The fire department, they did their report, and they said that it was caused from an electrical surge. They said that the night, a lot of electrical surges were happening.”

 

Britney Gordon

“So evidently, nothing was left of, of that house, right”

 

Ashanti Garnett

“It was a complete, complete loss. I think the only thing I have was the blanket that I ran out with, with my baby wrapped in it. Complete loss. We even had a few house pets inside that died.”

 

Britney Gordon

“Tell me about where you guys are now, and what do you guys need to move forward?”

 

Ashanti Garnett

“Well, currently, we’re renting a room. I’m a nail tech, so I used to have my own studio in the house. Now we have to rent that space as well. So financially, we’re feeling a strain that we didn’t experience before owning our own house. And so far, we’re up to our flooring. All we really need is assistance with materials and the walls and roofing. I know material is super expensive, and that’s why I asked to the public that if there’s anything that they would like to donate, you know, even if it’s one or two by four, I mean, it’s super helpful, even if it’s a stove something, because all of that will be needed in the new home. So I ask anything, and I would appreciate that.”

 

The family claims that Lake independence Area Representative, Cordel Hyde had assisted the family with some funds to purchase materials and promised to facilitate the donation of a small wooden home, however, that house has yet to materialize.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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