Mica Lovato, mother of two with one on the way said Monday afternoon was just like any other. She picked her son Austin up from pre-school and came home to cook some food for him and her daughter Lilly. At home with her two small children, it was while she was cooking, her son rushed into the kitchen and yelled ‘fire!’.
“He was super hungry he was asking ‘Is it ready yet Mom?’,” said Lovato. “Two minutes later I turned around and he was freaking out. I took off as fast as I could.”
She noticed a large fire had broken out in her young son’s bedroom, so she immediately got both of the kids out of the house. While she was standing out with the kids, she said it was an emotional experience watching the house she’s lived in since she was nine burn down. She ran back inside.
“I have a lot of memories in that house.. a lot of personal memories in that house like pictures,” said Lovato. “My graduation gown was in my son’s closet.”
As the smoke began to flood the hallways she ran outside to see the entire street there comforting her children and helping out with the situation. She said she’s a huge fan of candles, and usually lights a few around the house. The fire department was unable to detect the exact cause of the fire, but Lovato thinks the candles might of had something to do with the fire.
“I had one in just about every room,” said Lovato. “I blow out the kid’s candles if they are going to go in there but I guess I got so caught up I forgot.”
Immediately following the incident, The Lovato family said they had an outpour of support from the community in many different ways. Churches donated, friends helped, and family members have offered their homes to the family.
“It’s amazing what small towns can do,” said Lovato. “The community, every time there’s a tragedy and makes everything seem okay.. and that’s awesome.”