Twenty-three-year-old Ray Lucas of Eastpointe, Michigan, didn’t hesitate when he saw his house on fire — his two 18-month-old twin daughters, Malaysia and Milan, inside. The dad managed to save both girls as the house burned to the ground, and now he and his family are looking for help to get back on their feet.
Lucas and his girlfriend, Shi'Ann Brown, returned home from running errands when they saw the house aflame.
They’d gone to the corner gas station, WJBK reported, and were only gone for 15 minutes when the worst happened.
“The house was engulfed in smoke,” he told the news station. “I saw my mom and my niece were standing at the door and they were frantic.”
It was an intense situation and Lucas "just knew I had to get my babies out.”
“That's what went through my mind. … You really couldn't see your hand in front of your face,” he continued. “I really only found my babies due to my memory, just knowing where they were and knowing how to get to them."
A GoFundMe page explained that it was an electrical fire that started in the basement.
The dad managed to get his children out of the home, and they were taken to Children’s Hospital — “one in ICU and the other twin receiving medical treatment also,” the fundraising page noted.
Lucas was “severely burned” during the rescue and “sustained second and third degree burns to his face , eyes, neck, arms and other parts of his body in addition to smoke inhalation.”
“I was temporarily blind for three days and they said it was a miracle I could see," he told WJBK. "I've got burns on my arms, but for the most part, everyone is still here."
Malaysia was released from the hospital with severe burns, and it’s not clear if Milan was still in the hospital.
The family is looking for help. Because of his injuries, Lucas can’t work, and according to the GoFundMe page “their house was completely destroyed.”
“The family LOST ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING IN THE FIRE,” it reads. The family also needs things such as “furniture, baby beds and baby furniture, in addition to diapers and clothing for both of the twin babies and clothing for the baby’s mother and the father.”
So far they’ve raised more than $219,000, but some things can never be recovered.
“Shi’Ann had valuable family Heirlooms that can never be replaced that were also lost in the fire,” the page reads.
Lucas said the family home had flooding issues the day before the accident and wonders if the two incidents were connected.
"If anybody can support [us] that'll be great," he shared.
