ST. LOUIS — A north St. Louis family of six is homeless after a fire destroyed their Melvin Avenue home Saturday.
The St. Louis Fire Department said it happened around 1 p.m.
Demika Williams said she was at her home on Melvin Avenue Saturday afternoon just trying to get the lights back on followers on TikTok helped her get the money to pay her electricity bill.
“I called Ameren and I said ‘Hey, something is wrong with the lights.’ They instructed me to go downstairs to my circuit breaker, I did, then came back upstairs, signaled to my kids that everything is okay. Next thing you know, we start smelling something in my house. Just got into flames, and all I could do was grab my kids and run out,” Williams said.
Her next-door neighbor says he called 911 right away.
“I saw the black smoke coming out the door and going up and under that, divider and coming out of the house. And it blew the windows out,” neighbor Marlon Burks said.
Williams says in a matter of minutes she went from barely getting by to being homeless.
“I have five kids. And we are just homeless. We don't have anywhere to go. The Red Cross gave me some money. But that's not enough. It’s not. I can't be picky, but it's not enough for us to keep getting a room. I have to pick between getting a room or food,” Williams said.
Another neighbor says the family has already been going through a very rough time over the last few months.
“I hate this. You know that she lost her mom, and now we got this tragedy here,” neighbor Anthony Anderson said.
Williams says she lost her mom so quickly she wasn’t able to switch the homeowners' insurance or get her affairs in order.
“I couldn't even get anything switched over. Just like this is her car, and I'm getting piles of tickets because I can't register the car. I can't do anything,” Williams said.
But right now she’s focused on her kids.
“My kids don't have no clothes. I don't have any clothes. Clearly. See what I have on. They don't have any shoes or anything. We don't have anything,” Williams said.
Williams said this is roughly what she and her kids need right now:
- Her oldest son is 15 years old and needs size 18 pants, size large shirts, men's shoes size 12.
- Her 10-year-old son needs size 12 pants, size medium shirts, and shoe size 5.5.
- Her 4-year-old daughter needs size 4T clothes, and size 9C shoes.
- Her 2-year-old son needs size 3T clothes and size 7C shoes.
- Her 1-year-old daughter needs size 2T clothes and size 5C shoes.
- They also need diapers.
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