NEW ORLEANS — 94-year-old Idell Hamilton is home. But it's not her home. She's the primary caretaker for her 75-year-old disabled son Earl.
The pair were inside their Mid City house on South Solomon Street Sunday when a fire ripped through.
"I didn't want to be trapped in there, but we got out in time praise the Lord. But we lost everything," Hamilton said. "All that knocking on the door, when I got to myself and got off the floor, they said, it's a fire it's a fire."
Hamilton says she was knocked in the head and fell when firefighters were trying to break through the door to get to her.
According to New Orleans Fire Department, the fire started in or near the garage. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.
NOFD reports the first fire units found a backyard shed and a car on fire, which spread to the home and surrounding homes. Overall, 22 people have been displaced.
All that's left of the three buildings is mostly rubble.
Hamilton and her son say she's now left with nothing.
"It's a horrible feeling when you don't have anything but what's on your back," she said.
James Johnson Jr. says his heart hurts for his Aunt who has to start all over again, for the second time.
"I experienced with her the loss in Katrina....so just to see that we got to go through this all over again, all I can do is take a deep breath, hold back the tears, if we got through it the first time, we can get through it a second time," he said.
"I will get over it, I am sure I will. Everyone else does, I can do the same," Hamilton said.
The family has a GoFundMe to help with costs associated with repurchasing everything.
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