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Semmes, AL (WALA) — Christmas Day is meant to be full of joy, but for the Autrey family of Semmes, it ended in complete devastation.
“I got up as usual on Christmas morning, my son opened his gifts,” said Samantha Autrey, who lost her home to a fire.
Autrey, her nine year old son Isak, and husband left to eat Christmas dinner at a family member’s house.
A meal that would be cut short by a phone call from a neighbor.
“Me getting here, and seeing and knowing that there was nothing i could do…it hurt. We worked so hard to build our little family, and our house and everything was gone.” said Autrey.
Autrey says despite Semmes firefighters’ best efforts, all her family is left with is the clothes on their backs.
The family says there is an ongoing investigation into what caused the fire.
Autrey says Christmas presents were the least of what her family lost.
Their beloved family cat, Boots, was killed in the fire.
“He wasn’t really worried about his toys, he lost his best friend. He lost his cat. My mom said he stayed up until well into the hours last night crying over his cat, which was like my son too.” said Autrey.
With her son’s tenth birthday coming up in just a few days, the family now trying to find strength.
“I’m still in shock. We have to figure out how to move forward.” said Autrey.
If you’d like to help the Autrey family, you can stop by Georgetown Volunteer Fire Department Wednesday and Thursday from 4 pm to 6 pm.
Below are clothing sizes for the family:
Woman size 22 pants, 2x shirts size 9 shoes
Mens size 38/40 pants 2x shirts size 11 shoes
Boy size medium mens shirts mens small jogging pants size 7 shoe
Also mens medium navy blue school shirts and khaki pants with elastic waist
You can also donate to the family’s go fund me account by clicking here.
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