Family speaks after firefighters save dog in house fire; say Quebec Drive fire left them 'in pure shock'
BATON ROUGE - East Side Fire Department officials called Wednesday's house fire on Quebec Drive a "total loss," attributing the cause to a kitchen fire.
"A young lady was cooking on the stove and accidentally fell asleep, luckily she woke up in time to get out of the house," East Side Fire Department Chief Keith Smith said.
Smith said the call for a fire came in at 1:30 p.m. Along with East Side, Smith said Central Fire, St. George Fire, Baton Rouge Fire and EMS responded.
"The fire damage was mainly contained to the kitchen and the den area, but with the amount of smoke, the whole house is a total loss," Smith said.
Reuntae Chirse lives in the home with her four children, one of whom being a newborn.
"Leaving my newborn's doctor's appointment, my daughter called, saying the house was on fire. I came straight here, and the road was blocked off with the fire trucks, ambulance, police," Chirse said. "I just seen the smoke, I was in a black-out mode, I was just in pure shock."
Chirse said the only person in the home at the time of the fire was her 17-year-old daughter. The family's dog, Koby, was also in the home.