Single Mother Returns To Charred Glenn Heights Home
GLENN HEIGHTS (CBSDFW.COM) – A single mother spent Saturday 1,200 miles away from her home, getting constant updates from a friend as a 280-acre fire rushed through Ellis County and gutted her house.
Remica Cox's house in Glenn Heights was completely destroyed, forcing her to start over alongside her two daughters.
Cox's home was the only structure lost in the fire.
"When I walked in here the first time, I couldn't believe it," Cox said as she assessed her damaged home Sunday.
Disbelief and sadness overwhelmed her as she tried to digest the devastation and confront the reality that her home, her belongings and her keepsakes are all gone.
"Just shocking," she said. "Just shocking."
Nothing is salvageable from Cox's three-bedroom home on the 1200block of Yukon in Glenn Heights.
"All my pictures are gone," Cox said.
Cox's home was the only house on Yukon Street that was destroyed by flames, although at least two others suffered some damage from the flames. It took authorities about five hours to douse the blaze.
"It was very emotional - we just moved in October and we were slowly decorating the rooms, it's just very emotional," Cox said.
As the unforgiving flames devoured her home, Cox sat helpless 1,200 miles away in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She received updates over the phone from her colleague and friend.
"As we entered the airport in Florida, I received the call, but I didn't think it was really going to reach this side."
Friends and family visited the Cox home Sunday afternoon to lend support and comfort. Now, Cox is left to pick-up the pieces and start anew, grateful for the safety of her family.
"I would have been at work and the girls would have been here by themselves, so I'm thankful that we weren't here and no one got hurt and none of the neighbors were hurt," Cox said.
Cox does not have renter's insurance. Friends are now working to set-up a special fund for her and her daughters. Meanwhile a house just across from Cox's caught fire Sunday evening. The cause is still under investigation.
"After last night, I questioned why? Then I asked myself, why not me? I do believe God has a better purpose and a plan for me and my girls," she said.
