COPPERAS COVE, Texas — Early Thursday morning, Anaya Yancey and Demarion Middleton woke to their Copperas Cove apartment complex on fire. Soon later, the Copperas Cove Fire Department arrived to Willow Creek Apartments to find it engulfed in smoke and flames.
"You just hear a big popping noise," Yancey said. "So I was like either someone just has a gun and shot something or I don't know what's going on."
The fire began around 6:30 a.m. and quickly spread, causing 34 residents, including Yancey and Middleton, to be evacuated.
Like the others, the two lost their home and everything in it, including their first child's new nursery they completed days ago, they said.
"It's one thing to be like paranoid about your first baby," Yancy said. "But it's another to be paranoid about your first baby and your house just caught fire."
They said the baby is due in two weeks.
In the aftermath of the flames, the community has rallied behind the affected families who lost their home, offering immediate support and comfort.
"God is good," Yancey said. "Like I said, he's gonna take care of us. We're, I mean, I have my father, my son, his mommy's here. So, I mean, like we still have family. That's what's most important."
To donate to all the residents click here.
To donate to Anya and Demarion click here.