Waco mother encourages fire safety after losing her family home in fire

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - A family of four is left without a home and pretty much all of their belongings after a recent fire.

Leticia Sierra and her family have lived in their home off of Proctor Drive for nearly a decade. Sierra said the smoke left behind should serve as an important reminder for parents everywhere.

”There was a desk on the chair and it kind of just escalated from there,” Sierra said.

When Sierra wasn’t looking she said her 12-year-old son lit a piece of paper on fire and put it in her barbecue grill.

”I do believe he was playing around in the charcoal pit, I was inside, he came inside because he thought it put it out,” Sierra said.

The flames ended up spreading from the porch into the house.

”I mean it’s devastating to see the swing set, the trampoline, the clothes,” Sierra said. “The TVs I upgraded from 19 inch TVs to 55 inch TVs.”

The family lost furniture, clothes, toys and plenty of precious memories.

”My son at school had created a little jewelry holder, that was made out of clay that was on my dresserand lost in the fire,” Sierra said.

In the week since the fire Sierra has been staying in a hotel while she searches for a new home.

”I mean I’ve depleted all of my funds from the American Red Cross and it’s kind of coming from my pockets at this time,” Sierra said.

But thanks to a GoFundMe she now has enough money to put a down payment on a rental.

”I mean this week has been a small blessing in disguise, everything has been working out so far in my favor,” Sierra said.

After this situation, she encourages all parents to always keep a watchful eye on their children.

”I never thought it would happen because he’s never done it,” Sierra said. “Parents, be more aware because things like that can definitely go wrong.”

Despite having enough funds for a down payment, Sierra still needs to replace all of her belongings she lost in the fire and is still accepting cash donations via GoFundMe.

As far as items, she needs a bed for her children, kitchen supplies and food. She’s also asking for small or medium clothes for her, 8 or 10 sized pants and 3T, 5T, 12 and 14 size clothes for her boys. Anyone interested in donating these items can reach out to her on Facebook.