An Independence mother jumped into action to save her family on Wednesday afternoon after her young son suddenly started a fire. Now the family is left with nothing.
Angelina Flores was in the kitchen making lunch when her 4-year-old son told her the front closet was on fire.
“All I could think was to run in there and get my baby. My 10-month-old son was literally right next to the closet that was on fire,” Flores said. “It happened so fast that there was really nothing we could do but run out. The smoke was so bad."
Flores said her son knew not to touch a lighter, but he wasn’t listening. She and her fiancé planned to take him to the fire station for a lesson on Wednesday, but never made it.
“The last couple of days he's just been wanting to play with lighters. I don't know why, I tried to speak with him about it and he doesn't get the point. He could have killed my baby. I didn't know how to stop that."
The house her family of six was renting was destroyed in the fire. They lost nearly everything they own.
She hopes her story serves as a lesson learned for other families.
“Put lighters up. Because it only takes one tiny mistake. One second. It literally happened within seconds and our house was on fire."
The family did not have smoke detectors.
Flores said she feels very lucky everyone is OK and was able to get out safely.
The Red Cross is helping with the family with immediate needs. You can contact The Red Cross to help with donations.
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Lexi Sutter can be reached at alexandra.sutter@kshb.com.
