Lafayette Family recovering after losing everything in fire
/ Tom Eschen
Their home reduced to rubble, a Lafayette family who lost everything when their house caught fire on Thursday feel blessed to be alive today.
The family, Billy Anastas, the father, the kids Ashley Anastas and Patrick Anastas, and Billy's wife, Jackie Stanton, were coming back from dinner when they got the call that their trailer on Coye Road caught fire. With the family of four intact and away from the blaze, they worried about their dogs, Tia and Buddy. Robert Griffin, who lives across the street from the family, saw the blaze, got into the trailer to make sure everyone was alright, and saved Tia, the family's German Shepherd.
Tia's sister was recently hit by a car, so the family did not want to part ways with another canine.
"We really didn't want to lose her," Jackie Stanton says. "When [Robert] had said he had gotten her out, that was a relief. Yes, we couldn't save anything else, but our dog is alive."
While the family is grateful to Robert for his heroic act, they are overwhelmed by the community's support. The day after they lost their home, friends, neighbors and people they did not even know asked them if they needed help, donating clothes, furniture and offering a place to stay.
The family says they will stay with friends for the next few weeks, but are looking at new trailers now, which they would like to purchase and put back near their barn in the effort to start making new memories in a new home.
