Mom of 3 starting over after apartment fire displaces multiple families in west Harris County

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Several families from the Memorial area spent Halloween weekend searching for a new place to live. An apartment fire damaged at least 12 units at a complex off Eldridge Parkway near Briar Forest Drive. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but many of the families are having to start over.

Among those families is a woman who has three young kids. They had just moved into The Abbeys at Enclave about four months ago.

Dominique Ramirez said they were finally getting on their feet until Sunday morning when that sense of stability went up in smoke.

"First and foremost, I am very blessed that we weren't there," Ramirez said.

She was at her sister's house and her kids were staying with their father over the weekend.

"The call came in as a kitchen fire in the apartment complex. When the crews got on location, they had heavy fire on the second floor in the center of the building," said Jason Wells with the Houston Fire Department.

Ramirez recorded the moment she got home Sunday afternoon and was shocked to see there was almost nothing left.

"I didn't know what to think, or to do, or how to feel. I just broke down," she said.

Ramirez avoided telling her 3-year-old twins and 10-year old daughter what happened. Instead, she focused on the fact that they're safe and on some of the things she still has.

"My wooden, little frame that says 'pray' was not burned at all, and I had a shelf right under it that was wood. It was burned. It was gone," she said.

Despite their fire, smoke, and water-damaged home, she said that's a reminder of what she has and needs.

"Prayers. A lot of prayers. Those work. Those are powerful, so I would appreciate a lot of prayers," Ramirez said.

She also asked the community for help replacing the necessities they lost in the apartment until she figures out a plan to start over again. Her family set up a GoFundMe account to assist with expenses.