HOUSTON – The house Jennifer Guerra grew up in and has lived in for 23 years, is gone.
She spoke exclusively with KPRC 2 reporter Corley Peel, showing the damage.
“It breaks my heart honestly, to see that,” Guerra said. “I lived here for so long, and now I don’t have anything to come back to. We’re going to have to demolish my memories that I had growing up.”
A neighbor’s cell phone video captured the furious flames and smoke attacking the home around midnight on Friday. This was hours after Derecho ripped through the area.
A large tree fell on top of what used to be the family’s roof, instantly knocking out their power.
“We had leaks in our kitchen prior to all of this happening. We were like, ‘This is going to have to be a tomorrow type of situation,’” Guerra said.
The family plugged in their generator, one that had saved them during previous storms. Guerra said they placed the generator close to the house so no one would steal it.
“We paid a lot of money for this generator,” she said. “For somebody to just steal it, we were not okay with that idea. So, we had it midway in, midway out.”
Guerra said her mother heard the generator shut off.
“When she stepped out of her room, she saw all the flames and everything that was happening. She just started knocking on our door and started screaming, ‘Hey! Get out get out there’s a fire in the kitchen.’”
With only the clothes on their backs, Guerra, her mother and two sisters frantically rushed out of the home, but they could not get service to call 911.
“We were screaming at the top of our lungs because 911 wasn’t answering and we just need anybody, anybody’s attention that we could get.” Guerra said.
Neighbors rushed to help as firefighters arrived, but Guerra could not find her three cats. Her house was destroyed. Two of their cars were also damaged.
According to the Houston Fire Department Arson investigators, the fire was ruled accidental and caused by the improper use of a portable generator.
The next day, two of her cats, Lady and Chiquitin were found alive in the rubble. Their paws and fur were burned. Both cats were suffering from smoke inhalation. Guerra’s first cat she ever owned, Boraki, is still nowhere to be found.
“I assume that he’s under there,” she said. “Like he’s under there and I want to hope that he’s okay. That maybe he’s just running around the neighborhood like he just doesn’t’ know. I really do think that he passed away.”
Guerra said her family does not have home or car insurance. She is not sure where they will go next, but she is grateful her family is safe.
She said the next time she uses a generator, it will be a safe distance from their home.