AUSTIN (KXAN) — A fire in south Austin destroyed an Austin ISD Board of Trustee’s home on Thursday.
Austin ISD Board Trustee Andrew Gonzales and his partner, LaRessa Quintana—who also serves on the board—were coming from an Austin ISD board meeting when they opened the door to their home, finding it in ruins.
“A wall of smoke just poured out of the house. And immediately we knew that there was a fire,” Gonzales said. “My family has always lived in this house. We are the first owners. The only owners. My parents passed it to me. I grew up here my entire life with my three siblings and my mom and dad.”
The Austin Fire Department told KXAN the fire was caused by an insulation issue. On Saturday, the house caught on fire again for the same reason, and Austin Fire had to put the fire out again as a result.
Gonzales had two cats that were in the house when the fire happened. The cats did not make it.
“My heart is more broken than I could have ever imagined. I would trade the house and everything if I could have our pets back,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales also said he lost a lot of his family’s memorabilia and artifacts he had of Austin ISD history in the fire.
“I have nothing but the shoes and the clothes that were on me, and that’s it,” Gonzales said. “This is an abyss. There’s nothing but darkness ahead of us and we don’t know what we’re going to need.
There is a GoFundMe set up to help provide financial support. If you would like to donate, click here.
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