MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Frayser family of nine is homeless after their house caught fire on Sunday morning.
The Memphis Fire Department responded to a house fire in the 2100 block
Pueblo Avenue in Frayser on Sunday right before noon. MFD said the cause of fire was due to a child playing with matches, but the child’s mother said that was not true.
MFD said they got on the scene and could see the fire from the one-story wood frame house. Raven Carter said she and her eight children, ranging from age three to 16, were home when the fire started.
Carter said she is glad that they made it out alive.
“That was everything I had but being that me and my children made it out safe, everything wasn’t a loss,” Carter said. “I noticed fire from the back bedroom, and I called for all the children to get out of the house. As I was circling back to make sure I got everyone, the hallways was completely black of smoke.”
Everyone was able to make it out safely, with nothing but the clothes on their backs. The family said everything from clothes, furniture and even the kids’ laptops for school were all destroyed.
In total, MFD said the flames caused roughly $50,000 in damage. Investigators tell WREG-TV one of the kids accidentally caused the fire while playing with matches in the bedroom.
But Carter said she does not believe that, since she said the only person investigators spoke to on scene was her seven-year-old son, who has autism.
“I don’t want them to say that my child was playing with matches because that’s not what I told them,” Carter said. “What I told them was that my son is autistic, and that they wouldn’t understand what he’s saying.
The single, working mother said despite what happened, she is now looking toward the future for herself and her children.
“I’m a working mom. I have a career ahead of me that I’m working towards, and I’m working in my field of study. So, I’m just working to get back on my feet the best way I can,”Carter said.
WREG-TV earned one firefighter was taken to the hospital after getting hurt on his leg while taking out the blaze. MFD said he is going to be ok.
