Fire damages home on Christmas eve

The Houston region has been touted as a fresh start for a local Houstonian. Two days before Christmas, a fiery blaze destroyed her dream and home- the Cypress-area refuge that she left in 2017 after leaving an abusive relationship.

Everyone in this community is trying to help her because she has kids that need a second chance at Christmas. Early morning flames that started in the garage and quickly spread to the attic forced Modules and all 10 of her children to flee the rental home in their pajamas. Her child is 23 years old but not living at home.

A few children had to run into the street barefoot. It was supposed to be their new beginning. It was supposed to be better for my children and her.

Catherine Modliski's daughter is salvaging her high school diploma from the fire that destroyed their home on December 23, 2020. Modules, a mother of 11 children, evacuated the house fire at 3 in the morning with ten children. She expressed gratitude towards all of the residents who survived the fire despite their homes being destroyed.

Catherine Modly takes back the high school diploma that was kept from her daughter after a house fire. Modules, a mother of 11, evacuated her home as it burned through the night at 3 a.m. She commented that she was thankful that all of them escaped from the burning rental home despite the lost structure.

Investigator's opinion the fire in the 6400 block of Pinewood Trace Lane was accidental. The ascent started around 4 a.m. In the attached garage, the house collapsed while tearing through a portion of the second floor. The smoke alarms were operating correctly, said officials.

Were destroyed in the fire were children's clothing, laptops, and Christmas presents. However, no one was hurt in that fire.

The fire started around the time Modleske arrived home from delivering her 18-year-old daughter to work. She was away from home for two hours. She did not smell light smoke, but she thinks it was the truck.

She quickly crawled into the bed and then was startled by her daughter calling for her. In the garage, they unexpectedly found flames burning.

Modules tried extinguishing the fire with a garden hose, but the effort resulted in no change. A few drops of rain came down just as the Cy Fair Fire Department crew arrived. By the time the fire went up the wall.

A nearby neighbor, Ndoma Ntela, reported that his daughter had noticed the fire when it began. She heard an explosion and alerted her boyfriend to the fire. One of the children by himself went door-to-door to seek help.

The mother was crying outside in the parking lot. She was glad they escaped.

Firefighters quickly put out the fire within a couple of hours. By then, the home was severely damaged, leading to an evacuation.

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Twelve hours after the fire, Modules returned to the fire's site to retrieve clothes that her son had worn. The flooded carpet squelched beneath one's foot and crunched beneath one's foot.

The house received light from the street through a large hole in the roof. Water trickling from the roof was heard throughout the damaged residence.

Modules gathered her children's high school diplomas and other important personal documents from her mantle and a drawer of papers from her bedroom.

Outside of the house, she wondered what she could do to prepare food for the children. Her thoughts raced as she imagined what would have happened if her daughter hadn't worked late that night.

The worrisome thought consumed the woman for hours later when she held her infant. If she were asleep, she would have thought. It was just so quiet everywhere.

Meanwhile, the American Red Cross will be assisting the family until they can move into a new home. The family set up a GoFundMe for the funeral expenses, which raised more than $17,000 from over 241 donors.

The fundraiser asks the community to help attain new housing, clothing, furniture, beds, shoes, and other household items.

In the past year, seven of her children attended Cypress Ridge High School, two are currently attending Truitt Middle School, and three are currently attending Lee Elementary School.

The mother is grateful to her eldest children for saving her life and her other children's lives from the fire.

Instead of reverting to panic, these men went into action. The mother explained that they lost everything aside from getting everyone out of this house. No matter how hard it may be to be a single mom — the kids will fight sometimes — but it made her so proud.

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