“This is all we have” Tragic fire in Zachary leaves single mother devastated • Unfiltered with Kiran

ZACHARY — Erica Smith of Zachary is coping with the loss of everything she owns after a devastating fire destroyed her mobile home Tuesday morning. The fire, which started minutes after Smith and her autistic son left their home, reduced her belongings and precious memories to ashes.

Smith remembers the shocking moment she received the news.

“They said they heard what they thought were gunshots, like a bang, bang, bang. And then they looked outside and my house was just on fire,” she said, her voice shaking.

Firefighters responded quickly, but the extent of the damage made it impossible to determine the exact cause. However, the overwhelming smell of burning wires led them to believe it was an electrical fire.

Erica, a teacher's aide at Slaughter Elementary School, had been working diligently toward her teaching degree. All of her course materials, as well as any valuable items she and her son owned, were in the trailer.

“This is everything we own. I lost all of my son's birth certificates, his school memorabilia, all of his school photos. We lost everything – clothes, shoes, everything,” Smith said, her tears reflecting the depth of her pain.

The fire not only destroyed her trailer, but also severely damaged the two trailers next door. Erica was in the process of purchasing a trailer next door, with the intention of giving the trailer she was living in to a close friend and her daughter. However, the fire destroyed both the new trailer and the one they had been living in.

“That’s all we have, because the trailer was mine alone,” Smith shouted.

Now with nothing left, Erica and her son must rebuild their lives from scratch. A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help them recover from this tragedy.

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