DAYTON – A mother, father and their nine children who live near Dayton lost everything in a house fire Wednesday.
“I’m going to be okay. I just wish my kids didn’t have to go through this,” mom Jerene Buckles said.
Some of their children have special needs and take medication.
The walls are the only thing left standing at Jerene Buckle’s home.
“I think I’m still in shock. I think I’m still numb,” she said.
Jerene and her husband have nine children. Their youngest is six and the oldest is 20 years old. On Wednesday, their lives were forever changed.
“This was our dream home,” Jerene said. “We had finally found a home that was going to work for not only just what we wanted but also for our three non-ambulatory children. It was big and had the land.”
Jerene shared pictures of the intense flames that destroyed the two-story home. The fire torched trees and melted the family’s van. Another car was also totaled.
Fire crews came back to the home on Thursday to put out various hot spots.
Denny Loonam with Liberty County Emergency District No. 3 says the call came in as a kitchen fire. He lives down the road from the home and the fire station.
“By the time we pulled back in here, this house was totally involved. It was the hottest fire that we’ve had out here in a long time,” Loonam said.
The Liberty County Fire Marshal says the cause of the blaze is under investigation.
Thankfully everyone made it out safely.
“There were a lot of tears, especially from our 20-year-old,” Jerene said. “She was adopted from Ukraine several years ago.”
Jerene is still trying to process what happened and hates her family has to start over. She says her children lost their musical instruments and books.
“My daughter’s guitar was passed down to her from her deceased great grandfather,” she added. “That’s the kind of stuff that you can’t replace.”
The family is already receiving help from their church and the Dayton community.
They also have created a GoFundMe Page to help cover the unexpected costs.