SYDNEY, N.S. — It's hard to imagine the emotional turmoil Laureen McKenzie has had to cope with over the past few weeks.
"I'm sad, I'm upset. I lost my girls a month ago yesterday," says McKenzie
McKenzie's 15-year-old daughter Brea, along with her 16-year-old friend Madison Kelly, died in a fire in the early morning hours of Oct. 9 at a home on Brookside Street in Glace Bay.
Laureen is now back at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital in Sydney, where she continues to receive treatment for burns to more than 30 per cent of her body.
"I ran into the fire to try and save one of my girls and it got hot so quickly. There was pieces falling from the ceiling, they burnt my face. My face was so swollen, I couldn't see for a couple of days. I burnt all my hair off," says McKenzie.
"I tried my best to get the girls, but I just couldn't. It was too hot and too fast. It just took over the house like nothing I've ever seen before. I've seen fire, but never an inferno. It was just so big and fast. It was scary."
The fire marshal's office says the fire has been deemed accidental, but has not revealed the cause.
McKenzie says she was told how the fire started and believes it could have been prevented.
"It was caused by devices on the bed being charged. They just got too hot and burst into flames," added McKenzie.
Friends have been trying to find McKenzie a place to live once she's released from hospital, but so far they've had no luck.
"Everything is either second floor and there's no fire escape or clean site lines to have her come home and feel safe and be able to sleep at night," says Heather MacDonald, a friend.
McKenzie wanted to tell her story about what happened that night, despite her pain. So that her daughter and friend did not die in vain.
"The pain of the burns isn't as bad as the pain of losing the girls. Madison wasn't biologically mine, but I thought of her as mine. They were both my girls, they were both my children and losing them is the hardest thing I'll ever have to live with for the rest of my life," says McKenzie
Funeral arrangements for Brea have not been finalized, but the plan is to hold a private service once Laureen is released from hospital.
MacDonald says if anyone has suggestions on an apartment they can contact MacDonald at summerheath03@hotmail.com. If anyone wants help out financially, there is a GoFundMe page set up.
