Heights Fire Victim and Daughters Seek Help After Losing Home

When Chicago Heights resident Christianna Carrell heard smoke alarms, her first thought was to escape. But as she ran out the door with a rag over her mouth and car keys in hand, she was met by a terrifying figure.

"Black smoke," Christianna said. “It will be a big imprint on my mind forever.”

Around 5 p.m. on Sept. 11, Christianna was home alone in her upstairs apartment at 2208 Chicago Road. The kids were at her cousin's house and her boyfriend was out bowling.

The place was filling with smoke and she had to find a new way out.

“I knew I wasn’t going to make it down the stairs, so I dropped my car keys and the rag," Christianna recalled. "I ran to the window. There was a gentleman out there, his name was Derrick. He said if I decided to jump out of the window, that he would break my fall.”

Her only obstruction being an air conditioner in the window, Christianna quickly pushed it out toward her new friend on the sidewalk.

“I pushed the air conditioner out the window, he pushed it out of the way like he was superhuman," Christianna said. “I jumped out the window and he caught me like a cheerleader. It was amazing.”

Christianna said she was soon surrounded by , and watched in horror as her daughters' room went up in flames.

Christianna's oldest daughter Allani, 10, saw the blaze from down the street.

"When I saw smoke, I wasn’t sure if it was our house on fire," Alanni said. "When I got closer, I found out it was our house. I started crying."

Alanni's younger sister Aiyana Lampkin, 5, simply said she misses her Barbie dolls, but Christianna said she thinks the kids are taking it much better than she is.

"My memories in there … They’re gone," Christianna said, pointing at the rubble that was her home. "I saved items such as my daughters' first-born photos, little mittens, a lot of firsts that I saved for them (were) destroyed. My father passed away a few years ago from cancer, we had photos taken together right before he died, I’ll never get those back."

Christianna's mother Deborah Carrell, said she could only express her amazement at her daughter escaping the fire, attributing the feat to a higher power.

"After going through this, you have motivation from God," Deborah said. "She jumped 15 feet."

Christianna said she agreed to be interviewed partly because she wants to thank the people who helped her get out, as well as those who stopped to give her drinks and offer support outside the blaze.

I wanted to put a face to who I am ... I got out thanks to those who turned their cars around on Chicago Road to help me get out," Christianna said.

Aftermath

The days since the fire have been difficult for Christianna. In her last job as a certified nursing assistant at Emeritus in Orland Park, she helped patients with dementia.

She only worked as needed, and Christianna's hours had been cut to two days per week before she resigned.

“I really didn’t have any hours there," Christianna said. "Working two days a week and driving to Orland, you end up having to pick whether to get gas or eat.”

Now she's without a stable home, living in a friend's basement while her kids stay with her mother Deborah. Christianna recently went to the for assistance, without much luck.

"I thought maybe there was some type of emergency assistance. They said, ‘We can’t just give you a deposit or put you up anywhere,'" Christianna said. "They gave me packet after packet with staples in them, but a lot of the documents they wanted I didn’t even have. The secretary there seemed to feel bad about the situation.”

The next stops were and the , neither of which could do much for the mother of two due to lack of funding. Both organizations did say they could offer Christianna vouchers for furniture once she finds a home.

But therein lies the problem. It's difficult to find a home with very little money.

“Red Cross gave me money, but once you get toiletries and underwear and everything you immediately need, it’s basically gone," Christianna said. “I don’t know how I’m going to keep my phone on. It’s getting cold and the kids need coats, hats and school uniforms.”

Help Out

Some Patch readers, via Facebook, already have offered a helping hand.

"I work at . I will email this to all the Club Sponsors and see what we can do to help!" wrote Amy Browne Stockwell on the Chicago Heights Patch Facebook page.

"I have talked to the lady and I am getting some clothes together for her this weekend," said Teena Long, also on Facebook. "I have also posted on my wall asking others to contact me if they have anything they would like to donate."

Allani, who attends in Chicago Heights, is receiving new school supplies from District 170.

Christianna said she would take any help she can get, but is hoping someone can assist her and her children in finding a home, possibly a one- or two-bedroom apartment.

"To be honest I would accept anything," Christianna said. The hardest thing is finding a new home to start over."

If you would like to help, please contact Christianna Carrell at mscarrell@gmail.com or give her a call at 708-638-6204.

Clothing: Christianna's daughters wear sizes girls' 6X and 10-slim. Christianna wears a size 16.

Shoes: Her daughters' shoes sizes are 12 and 2. Christianna wears a size 9.

Additional reporting by Patch contributor Mary Compton