LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – A single phone call changed everything for Camille Lofton. Her daughter was calling to tell her their house was on fire.
“I made sure she was alright after that I screamed as loud as I possibly could,” Lofton said. “I was at my breaking point at this point, this can’t be happening right now.”
The fire started in the garage near 82nd and Indiana, where Lofton kept some of her most precious belongings. Among the items lost were irreplaceable family photos and mementos from her late mother.
“My mom passed away a couple years back, everything that she had all our pictures from childhood and on up. I had those, she trusted me now those are in the garage burnt up,” she said.
After living in the home for nearly 10 years, Lofton and her five children are now staying with her brother. She had planned to buy the house next year, but the fire has left it unlivable.
The kitchen is destroyed, living room walls are covered with smoke damage, and even her work computer was lost in the blaze.
“Trust me it’s materialistic things and I understand that it can be replaced at the end of the day,” Lofton said. “I’m 45 years old, it took me 45 years to get all of this.”
Lofton didn’t have renters insurance, something she says she’ll never go without again.
“If I had to rewind time again, I guess I probably cut out a whole other bill and made sure that was paid,” she said. “I encourage insurance not just renters. Life all that it’s going to be important for things like that.”
Lofton’s best friend, Cheryl Dickson, has organized a GoFundMe campaign to help the family get back on their feet.
“I was a single mother of 4 children and seeing Cammy go through this is heartbreaking,” Dickson said. “I know she has the biggest heart and would give to anyone.”
Fire officials say they still don’t know what caused the fire. Despite the heartbreak, Lofton says she’s grateful for the smoke detectors that saved her daughter’s life and for the people who’ve stepped up to help her family.
Those wanting to help can donate to the GoFundMe here.
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