LEWISVILLE, Texas – An early morning fire at a Denton County apartment complex last month left several people without a home, and some without their livelihoods. Lewisville Fire Department officials say the likely cause of the blaze was a lightning strike.
On August 30, Lewisville firefighters were dispatched to the structure fire at the Rose Hill Apartments off Leora Lane. When crews arrived, they reported heavy smoke and flames coming from the roof. While no injuries were reported, more than 80 units were destroyed, and dozens of residents were displaced.
Caroline Perez is a single mother at the complex whose home office was destroyed, along with at least $50,000 worth of inventory and photography supplies. Thankfully, Perez and her daughter Cora weren't home at the time of the fire.
“Ours wasn’t hit by fire necessary, but the second and third floors caved in on my unit and it pretty much destroyed everything,” Perez said. "We lost, you know, personal belongings and then my entire company is pretty much gone.”
Unfortunately, Perez’s renters insurance policy lapsed last year without notification, she said. After the fire, she and her daughter Cora were staying in a home along the Brazos River, but Perez is adamant about getting back on her feet and into a new place.
"It's just weird. It's very odd because like one minute last week you have everything you could want. You have everything materially. Plus, my business was going really well. And then the next minute it's just like taken away from you. So it's really humbling just to go from one spot to the next,” Perez said.
The pair was able to grab a few items from their unit with the help of Lewisville Fire Department, who helped pack up some of their belongings.
"My bedroom, [Cora’s] bedroom, the hallway and the bathroom were still intact as far as structurally. Everything was really flooded but we just were able to crawl in the window and grab as much as we could,” said Perez. “But I felt bad for [the firefighters’] time and I wanted to be respectful, so we didn't like ‘move out.’ We just grabbed a few boxes of photos and some clothes. So that to me was incredible because I thought I had lost everything, so to be able to get at least my photos and some clothes was like Christmas.”
As far as her business, Aroma Couture & Company, Perez said this may be God’s way of telling her it’s time to start fresh.
"I mean I think everything is divine, especially a lightning strike on your building. I mean there's really nothing that could be more godsend than that. And even though it kind of sucks in the meantime, I've always been, I guess, comforted in my journey of life,” Perez said. “It’s just kind of like ‘okay God, like what do you want for me, what is this?’ It's just an opportunity to start fresh like literally, I can kind of paint my own picture. I can kind of create what I want even though it's scary. But I know that, you know, anything can be done with like the right mental attitude and mindset.”
Perez said she’s now had to come to the realization that it’s okay to accept help from family and friends in times like these. She’s had a tough year, with the loss of her mother to a car accident in May and now losing everything in this fire.
"With the world that's been going on this year, sometimes I've been frustrated at humanity in a lot of ways. And so for this to be going on and seeing overwhelming love and support from not only my friends and family but like complete strangers, I'm taken aback completely,” Perez said.
Aroma Couture is in 350 retail stores worldwide, so Perez said she has many people wanting to help her out, which has been overwhelming. Friends, family, and strangers have all stepped up to raise $20,000 in a GoFundMe for the mom and daughter pair.
"I’ve been restored for just my confidence in people again and the ability to just love a stranger, so it's pretty overwhelming,” Perez said.
Perez has been updating her customers on how she’s coping with this new obstacle in life, with her social media platforms giving her the cathartic space to share her thanks for the much-appreciated support.
"I’ve been sharing all this and it's really helping other people kind of see me go through this and know that like, if she can be strong through this kind of circumstance and then rebuild, then anybody can do it because I'm not anybody special,” she said.
As for daughter Cora’s message for the Lewisville Fire Department?
“They're super amazing and stuff,” Cora said. “Thank you!”
