HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — Fire investigators are working to determine the cause of a blaze that displaced two families, including 11 children, in Henry County.
The families said they are stuck in limbo as insurance waits for fire investigators to determine whether the fire started in the car, the house, or elsewhere. In the meantime, they are living in hotel rooms while their future remains uncertain.
“Your home is your palace. You’re at peace away from the world,” Matthew Fitch said.
For the Fitch and Bennett families, the Henry County home was their safe place.
That changed Sunday morning, when Matthew Fitch heard a bang and noticed an orange glow while lying down to go to sleep.
“I yell out to my wife, ‘The house is on fire, the house is on fire,’” Matthew Fitch said.
“It was chaos. Like, what do I grab? Do I grab anything? Do I run outside? Are my kids actually outside?” Alicia Fitch said
The parents rushed to save their children and their dog. Once outside, all they could do was watch as their home burned.
“Your sense of safety and stability burns away,” Matthew Fitch said.
The family says the fire started in the garage near their Kia Sorrento. The fire then burned the playroom before spreading throughout the house.
“It’s not just money or material things; it’s memories,” Alicia Fitch said.
“What are the next steps? How are we going to make sure my family has shelter?” Matthew Fitch said.
The family says they also submitted numerous maintenance requests to the landlord to fix issues before the home burned; however, they say those requests were not completed.
In the meantime, the family is now renting a hotel room while fire investigators try to determine a cause.
“When your little kid is looking up at you and saying, ‘Mommy, I want to go home. Mommy, I wanna go lie in my bed.’ And you have to say, like, we can’t go home, and I don’t know when we’re going to have another home. It’s very difficult. It is very difficult,” Alicia Fitch said.
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