Editor’s note: The Chronicle is grateful for permission from KCTV5 and author Alex Love to republish this story from Dec. 24. The only edits pertain to Chronicle style and time-sensitive information.
This Hanukkah, the festival of lights is dark for a Kansas City family after a fire burned them out of their house and home. It all happened so fast with no warning.
Laura Waters and her two youngest children were able to get out safely, but all they’re left with now is essentially the clothes on their backs. The following 48 hours were “survival mode.”
Instead of a Hanukkah filled with light, love and laughter, Laura Waters is spending this holiday making sure her kids have just the bare necessities.
“The first night [of Hanukkah] for us, I give the kids new pajamas. We light our candles and have a special dinner,” Waters said. “[We] just have to put that on hold right now.”
Life took a drastic turn on Dec. 22, when, all of the sudden, the family heard loud noises coming from the attic.
“Popping and crackling, and I knew that’s not normal at all,” Waters’ son Rylan Waters recalled. “I ran to my mom’s room. She told me to get my little sister. I had to drag her out of bed and get out as soon as possible.”
Laura Waters added, “I grabbed a jacket, grabbed a blanket off my couch. As soon as we got across the street, we started seeing smoke and within a couple of minutes, there were flames.”
What sparked the flames is still unclear, but the Kansas City Fire Department says this time of year there are more risks for fire.
“One of the biggest things we experience this time of year is space heater issues and things of that nature,” Station 39 Battalion Fire Chief Aaron Lawson said. “So, people are supplementing their furnace with that. We get the food thing where people leave stuff unattended on the stove that gets up into the cabinets.”
For the Waters right now, it’s the generosity of friends, co-workers and the Red Cross giving them hope, showing what Hanukkah is all about.
“Four of them are going to give me four bags of clothes,” Waters’ daughter Leah said, crediting her American Heritage Girls Troop donation. “Way more than I need, so I’m definitely thankful for that.”
“Hanukkah is definitely about shining light into a dark world, and that’s what everyone has done for us,” Laura Waters said.
The family of the Waters have started a GoFundMe page to gather donations for the time being while insurance claims are filed. One other thing the Waters recommend is to have a plan to escape a house fire, so you get out quickly.
This article was originally published at kctv5.com.
