Posted on 03/16/2006 5:36:30 AM PST by FerdieMurphy
A toppled candle destroyed the home and belongings of an out-of-work nurse and her 10 children
During the late-afternoon confusion, a candle flame grew Monday into a potentially deadly blaze in the home where Kerren Laitaille had been raising her 10 children.
In a matter of minutes, the fire destroyed family pictures, most of their clothes, beds, just about everything they owned. Everything, that is, except their faith.
“It’s shown me I’m blessed with my kids and shown me people do care and are there for you,” Laitaille said Wednesday morning in her all-too-temporary home: a room at Hawthorn Suites in North Naples.
After the fire, the Collier County Red Cross set her up in the plush hotel room for three days, and the hotel offered an additional day at its own expense. That gave Laitaille, a 34-year-old out-of-work nurse and single mother, until 11 a.m. Friday to find a new place.
She doesn’t know what she will do when check-out time arrives. Her old home, which she rented, is no longer inhabitable.
In the meantime, her children, who range in age from 5 months to 15 years, have been watching television and playing video games to pass the time. Those who are old enough to go to school can’t because they don’t have a change of clothes.
For her part, Laitaille has been living in a controlled state of anxiety. Reading the Bible, she said, has kept doubt from consuming her the way the fire raged through her Golden Gate house.
Like most fires, this one started small.
Someone, perhaps one of the younger children, accidentally upended a candle in the master bathroom. The flame must have landed on or near a clothes basket because it spread quickly, said Victor Hill, a spokesman with the Golden Gate fire department.
A pungent odor filled the house at 5280 20th Place S.W. When Laitaille opened her bedroom door to see what was the matter, she encountered a wall of flames. She hollered for everyone to get out.
One of her sons, 13-year-old Derrick St. Claire, guided the others to safety, displaying remarkable calm.
“First, I had to get the small ones out,” the boy recalled Wednesday. “Then, I had to get the girls out, and then the rest of the boys out. Then we had to dial 911. We had everyone out of the house and safe.”
Golden Gate firefighters received the call at 5:55 p.m. and arrived at the house three minutes later, Hill said. Smoke poured from the eaves of the roof, making the house resemble a pot of boiling water with the lid still on top. The fire would go on to cause $50,000 in damage, Hill added.
Within 10 minutes, the fire was under control, but Laitaille’s life was spinning in the other direction.
A neighbor she had never spoken to before would turn out to be what Laitaille later called a “guardian angel.” The woman, a single mother of five children herself, tried to calm a disconsolate Laitaille and urged her not to re-enter the burning home.
Barbara Bekich, 38, stayed with the family for three hours in front of their ruined home as firefighters finished putting out the fire and concluded their investigation. She raided her children’s closets to give the family clothes and brought them diapers, Pop Tarts, water and Cheezits.
“Really,” Bekich said of Laitaille, “she needed a hand held.”
More help came when the Red Cross gave the family a $400 debit card to help replace clothes and other items lost to the fire. Laitaille said Wednesday she hadn’t used the card yet because she thought it hadn’t been activated.
But Jerry Welty, emergency services director for the Collier Red Cross, said it was ready to use when he handed it to her. Laitaille and her family were one of three families the Collier Red Cross has helped after fires during this week alone, Welty said.
Welty said he couldn’t remember the agency ever dealing with such a large single family. The suite the charity rented for her has three king-size beds and a pull-out sofa.
Laitaille, a native of the Bahamas who moved to Miami at 7 years of age, decided from an early age she wanted a big family. That way, each child would have someone to rely on and be relied upon. She was once engaged to be married to the man who fathered eight of her children, but he moved back to the east coast instead.
Since her van broke down two months ago, she has been unable to work as a private nurse and has been living on child support. A family friend this week put up the money to rent a van for her to get around.
Welty said that since the Red Cross only offers short-term help, he hoped another charity would step in by the end of the week to help the family find housing.
Laitaille, who grew up in the Baptist church, has turned to her faith to ease her frayed emotions. On Tuesday night, she read the comforting Psalm 23 seven times.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want,” it reads. “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. ...”
Apparently she ended up birthing a whole 'village' to rely upon one another. If the current trend continues, her children and grandchildren will be keeping each other company soon enough.
BTW, there was no mention of Laitaille's parents. I am assuming here that she didn't enter the country alone at 7 years of age. Siblings? The reporter could have provided more information. Her family, if she has any, should be helping her come 11:05 a.m. on Friday morning, if not before.
It may be demeaning to her, but her conduct essentially amounts to warfare against productive citizens. Because she has so many children, responsible people can have fewer, because the more money that is taxed to support the indigent, the less money is available for the productive to raise their own.
They wouldn't tell you the entire story would they?
You put it best, Mr. Thoughtomator!!!!
(and it isn't because they are charged to your room.)
As a matter of fact, they are.
I've seen enough similar comments after Hurricane Katrina. People praise large families, but when they need help, all of a sudden they're the plague. It doesn't matter if you're married, a spouse can walk out the door for a pack of smokes, and never come back.
I think this woman needs help. She's been traumatized, and she's never going to get on her feet again without counseling. 10 little people are depending on her.
You have got to be sh*tting me. Are you actually serious?
My last two posts are nonsense? I have some familiarity with what she's going through, although I don't have 10 kids. My source is living most of my adult life in ghetto neighborhoods. I know the good ones, and I know the bad ones.
As long as the family can stay together, I'd say she's doing a good job. How else can you explain how her 13 yr old had the presence of mind to engineer the evacuation of all his siblings out of a burning building? The kid is a hero. All they need is a help up, and they'll be just fine.
Thanks. I meant every word of it.
I believe I said "many states". I wasn't sure whether Florida recognized common law marriage.
Why is everyone assuming that that she had another relationship after her children's father left?
You're welcome. Don't you just love compassionate conservatism?
Good catch. I didn't see that. Maybe the family of her little one can take them in. I still resent the level of hatred and hostility on this board, regarding women and children.
>I still resent the level of hatred and hostility on this board, regarding women and children.<
The worthless "father" of at least 8 of the children is getting off far too easy, as far as I'm concerned.
What kind of man leaves EIGHT of his children????
Actually, it doesn't matter whether the other two were born before the man's eight, after, or somewhere in the middle. The point is that she went and made babies with at least two men. Somewhere between baby #1 and baby #10, she should have smartened up.
Yeah, but they aren't free to play. You have to pay a charge everytime you play them.
I agree with you whole heartedly.
One is still in diapers and I believe that the sperm donor that fled to the East coast was the father of only six. The last two were fathered by one or two others.
This woman is a threat to society and should be guilty of a crime. Society would be better served had she been locked up.
The father(s) are indeed worthless, but this despicable sow is beyond contempt.
One has to wonder the total amount of her monthly welfare. Multiply this "woman" by hundreds of thousands and the result will be why American society is in the tank.
Those eight fatherless children will grow up to follow the example set by the absent fathers and by their clueless poor excuse for a mother.
I am apparently a victim of the "new math."
There are 10 children. The father of 8 flees. The remaining 2 were, as stated, fathered by one or more others.
I would vote for Jesse Jackson for president if he would convince fleeing fathers to remain and marry the mother of their children. However, in most cases, both fathers and mothers would be bigamists big time.
Sad commentary on the state of affairs in America.
Throw more money at the problem created by Lyndon Bird's (not so) Great Society where procreating out of wedlock is rewarded and the man who sat at the head of the table at one time is replaced by a welfare check.
When the first bozo left she had two more.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.