The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

A CENTERVILLE family of seven whose generational home was gutted by fire early Friday thanked members of the community who have rallied around them with clothing, food, financial support and other assistance.

Alexis Braithwaite, 39, lived in the home with her husband, their children — ages 19, 13, nine and two — and her disabled brother.

She said the response from the community since the fire has been overwhelming.

"Up to now, I feel like a receptionist," Mrs Braithwaite said, noting that her phone has been ringing constantly with people offering help. "I'm grateful for the donations from everybody. The outpour of everyone in Nassau is what gives me hope right now, like, people still care."

According to Mrs Braithwaite, the fire developed rapidly shortly after her husband, Charles Braithwaite, left for work around 6am.

She said her disabled brother woke her minutes later after noticing the fire.

"When he woke me up, I saw smoke and everything on the ceiling in my room, so I ran quickly to where he said the fire was, but the fire was in his room," she said. "The fire was in the centre of his bed, it didn't really exhaust the house as yet, like, the house wasn't really on fire as yet until I opened the front door and everything just went 'boof".

After opening the front door, she said the flames spread rapidly, leaving her no choice but to run outside before worrying about the others inside.

She said her brother escaped through a window and neighbours helped get the children out of the house. Neighbours also broke the glass of her car and pushed it into the middle of the road to keep it away from the flames.

Mrs Braithwaite said she contacted emergency services around 6.12am after realising the house was on fire. Firefighters arrived around 6.45am.

"They were right down the road," she said. "I felt they could've saved had they reached in time. Something could've been salvaged, you know? I ain't far from there, I only have to cross one light, and you've reached them".

She said neighbours tried to fight the blaze before firefighters arrived.

"It was so amazing that the neighborhood, everybody came out when they heard fire, they were grabbing buckets, grabbing hoses, but they just couldn't out it," she said.

Mrs Braithwaite said nearly everything inside the house was destroyed except some documents and two Bibles — one in her children’s room and one in her bedroom.

"The bible that was in my room, the pages are still pure while-my TV burned, the oil didn't. My prayer shawl didn't burn," she said in faith. "Everything else destroyed."

The fire also killed the family’s dog, Marshall, a Shih Tzu that had been part of the household for five years and was received as a wedding gift.

"I mean, other than life I'm grateful for, that's the only thing that would hurt me from losing everything," she said.

Mrs Braithwaite said Centerville MP Jomo Campbell and Minister of Housing and Urban Renewal Keith Bell have contacted her and offered assistance through social services.

She said she plans to visit the agency’s offices on Monday to see whether the family can receive housing assistance.

"I'm just waiting to see if they're going to help me with some kind of housing assistance, even if its social housing, even if its government housing, I would really appreciate it," Mrs Braithwaite said.

She said both she and her husband remain employed. She works at Baha Mar, while her husband is a self-employed taxi driver. The couple had been saving to purchase their own home.

According to Mrs Braithwaite, Mr Bell also asked whether she would like their home to be restructured, but she said the family hopes to obtain a home of their own.

"I would just love something of my own for me and my family, if its possible, even if we have to put a down payment towards my own housing, I don't mind that," she said.

For now, the family has been split among relatives. Mrs Braithwaite and her three youngest children are staying with her mother-in-law in a two-bedroom apartment, while her eldest daughter and disabled brother are staying with other family members.

Despite the devastation, she said she is grateful everyone escaped unharmed and credited her brother with alerting her to the fire in time.

"He basically saved our lives, to be real, because I was in a deep sleep," she said.

Mrs Braithwaite said she plans to make a formal report early this week as authorities continue to determine the cause of the fire.

She said anyone wishing to assist the family can contact her at 4671111.