Lexington family loses home in house fire

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - A Lexington family is picking up the pieces of what’s left of their home after a fire destroyed it.

The fire happened Saturday on Jane Briggs Avenue. The family who lived there made it out safely, but 20 years of memories did not.

We spoke with the son, Cameron Nguyen, who says the community’s ongoing support is helping them through a tough time.

Cameron was at home when his home on Jane Briggs Avenue went up in flames saturday afternoon.

“All of a sudden, we hear knocks on the door with some kids, and they’re saying, ‘Hey guys, your house is on fire,” Cameron told us.

Eighteen units responded to the scene.

Lexington Fire Department’s Major Derek Roberts says modern homes provide conditions for these fires to thrive, including synthetic materials that burn faster and open concepts that fuel the flames by providing more oxygen.

“Traditionally, you have 15 to 20 minutes to get out of a fire or out of a home if there was a fire, and now you’re looking at three, two minutes before a home is uninhabitable,” said Maj. Roberts.

Cameron tells me that he and his family have come back out to the property each morning to see if there are any items that are salvageable from the fire. They have recovered mainly shoes and food products. But even with these items, Cameron says the road to normalcy for his family is going to take a long time.”

“There were times where I think that because of the fire, we’ve lost so many things that had our memories in it, but it makes me glad that nobody was hurt,” Cameron said.

Cameron says what hurts the most is the likelihood of his parents needing to start over after losing the place they called home for nearly 20 years.

“They lived here, they worked their whole lives to build this house, all their memories, all their family photos, and stuff, like pictures in frames, are all gone. I feel like we got set back a lot, but the community support makes me optimistic,” Cameron said.

A GoFundMe has been started on the Nguyen family’s behalf.

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