LAFAYETTE PARISH — LAFAYETTE, La. — A Lafayette mother is recovering after being forced to jump from a second-floor apartment window to escape a fire that tore through Heartland Apartments, displacing multiple families.
Angelic Andrus says the fire started suddenly while she and her two children were enjoying the final days of holiday break.
“Yes… it is. It’s devastating. It’s sad. It hurts,” Andrus said when asked about the experience.
Andrus told KATC she first realized something was wrong after hearing a loud noise.
The loud noise came from a young man who spotted the fire and began knocking on doors to warn tenants.
“Out of nowhere, we heard a big bang,” she said. “We opened the door, and that’s when we saw the fire coming up the stairs.”
Living on the second floor, Andrus says she knew she was running out of time and had to act quickly to save her children.
“Panic mode started settling in, so I nudged my daughter off the balcony,” Andrus said. “Then I pushed my son because he hesitated.”
Once her children made it to safety, Andrus says the fire spread rapidly, trapping her inside the apartment as the balcony became engulfed in flames. With no other way out, she climbed through a second-floor window.
“I put my leg out first… and I fell right here,” she said.
The Lafayette Fire Department responded to the fire on Simcoe street and extinguished the fire. Fire officials later determined the blaze started in a downstairs laundry room after a firework was improperly disposed of inside a trash can.
Six families, including Andrus and her children, were displaced. Officials say no one was killed in the fire, but Andrus suffered a leg injury.
“We had a lot of fun in that apartment,” she said. “A lot of family time. A lot of memories.”
With help from the American Red Cross, Andrus and her children are currently staying at a local motel. She says while she’s grateful for the assistance, she’s worried about what comes next once that help runs out.
Andrus says despite the loss, she’s focused on what matters most.
“I can still hug my kids,” she said. “All that other stuff can be replaced — but they can’t replace their mother. I get to see my kids.”
If you would like to help Angelic and her family you can click the link here.
