MANDEVILLE, La. — Eighteen families spent the day trying to figure out how to move forward after a fire destroyed their homes Sunday.
Monday, crews let tenants back inside to get what they can, but it’ll be a long road ahead.
Ashley Whelehan is salvaging what she can from her apartment.
“We got most of our stuff out that we could save,” Whelehan said.
She was taking an online test for nursing school when the fire started.
“Pretty devastating to be honest,” she said. “Me and my brother worked really hard for this and we’re starting over.”
She had to run out without her cat, who she found later that night in the parking lot.
The fire started around 11 a.m. Sunday. Nearly 50 firefighters spent hours putting it out. Four people were rescued from the building and no one was injured.
“We should be dead right now probably,” James Newmans said.
Newmans and his baby were in their apartment on the third floor at the time.
Cypress Lake Apartments said they’re refunding everyone’s March rent and paying for lodging for three days. They’re working to get as many families into other available units as they can.
Newmans doesn’t plan to stay.
“I’m not,” he said holding his baby. “He almost died yesterday.”
And like many, he did not have renters insurance. He’s starting over from scratch.
“You have almost an entire building of families that don’t have renters insurance that have lost everything,” he said.
Amy Nesbit created the Facebook group “Cypress Lake Apartments Fire Relief.” It has nearly a thousand members trying to donate clothes, toiletries and necessities.
“I never would have expected it to be this much,” she said.
They’re so overwhelmed with donations right now that they can’t accept anymore. Someone even gave Whelehan a new laptop.
“It’s actually made everything a lot easier,” Whelehan said.
It’s a first step in helping these families get back on their feet.
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