Acadia Parish- A family is now recovering in a hospital after a fire engulfed their home. Firefighters later discovered a 4-year-old girl's body inside the rubble.
"I woke up to smelling smoke, and my brother ran into my room, and he was screaming there was a trailer on fire," said Brooklynn Labove.
The teen woke up to a home a few feet away being destroyed.
" I just woke up and ran to see the house engulfed in flames, and all I heard was my baby is still in there, and I was like, oh, one of the kids was still in there," said Labove
A family of four was inside when the fire broke out. With time running out, Brooklyn's father rushed in to help.
" My dad was there trying to help, and I grabbed the shovel. I tried to break the wall down, but we couldn't,"
So, the missing child's father took matters into his own hands.
"The father tried to run back inside the home and locate the 4-year-old and was burned in the process, just trying to find his child; unfortunately, we know that was unsuccessful. The firefighters found the four-year-old's body," said Ashley Rodrigue with the State Fire Marshall
The family remains in the hospital recovering. The mother and son were both treated for smoke inhalation and minor burns. The father was treated for extensive burns and will need surgery.
" They are into pieces; the dad kept telling me about how it was her birthday, and she is turning 5," said Brooklynn.
The State Fire Marshal's Office says the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
" We were trying to determine if there were working smoke alarms in the house, and we found out that there were none, so we would like for the community to know that smoke alarms save lives," said Rodriguez.
If you want to help the family, you can click on the gofundmepage that's highlighted here.
An account has also been set up at First Guaranty Bank in Jennings under Cynthia Cormier.
The Kwik Stop at 8816 Church Point Hwy will collect household items, clothes, and monetary donations for the family.
