Louisville woman loses home in fire two months after son died
Urn salvaged from burned apartment
Urn salvaged from burned apartment
Urn salvaged from burned apartment
A fire seriously damaged a Portland apartment complex early Christmas morning.
For one family, it is another loss in a year that has already dealt them tragedy.
Mellanie Murphy lost nearly everything she owns in the fire, and it comes just two months after her son died unexpectedly.
On Monday, Murphy spent much of the day returning missed calls and replying to text messages.
She described the past 24 hours as chaotic.
"It was one of those things like is this a movie," Murphy said.
The mother was in her Northwestern Parkway apartment when it caught fire around 3 a.m. on Christmas.
"I remember hearing my brother tell me 'Come on,'" Murphy said.
Murphy had stayed behind. She said she was determined to save one thing from the flames.
"I just lost my son Jaden on Oct. 10 and I was trying to get his urn," Murphy said.
The 17-year-old died from a major brain bleed.
"As I'm looking at this inferno, it's still fire. It's still stuff falling and I just knew that I needed my son's urn," Murphy said. "As a mom, I had three kids accounted for. I was still missing one."
A firefighter finally found the urn undamaged.
Murphy said the rest of her belongings can be replaced.
She even said the fire, which is still under investigation, did not spoil her Christmas.
"Even though I lost my house and I lost all my belongings, I still ended up with Christmas just like where I wanted to be, with my family, with my mom, with my dad, with my kids," Murphy said.
She said despite the latest setback, life will go on.
"It has been a different 2016 for me," Murphy said. "I lost my great aunt. Two weeks later, I lose my son. Two months later, I lose my grandma, and two weeks later, I lose my home. But I am still blessed."
Murphy said her family will have to replace almost everything they own. To help with costs, hey have set up a fundraising page online. To help, click this link.
In total, three families were displaced by that fire.
We are told no one was hurt.