Mother thankful after sons help family escape Valentine’s Day house fire
By Christian Petersen
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WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (WXII) — A Winston-Salem family is picking up the pieces after a fire damaged their home.
The Winston-Salem Fire Department responded to the Slater Avenue home around 6 o’clock on Valentine’s evening.
Timeka Couthen’s grandmother and four of her children were in the home at the time, but everyone made it out safely.
Couthen and her family spent the day salvaging what they could and putting it in storage.
Couthen says she was at dinner in Greensboro when her 12-year-old son called to say the house was on fire. She says they could smell the smoke and see the flashing emergency lights down the street. She described what it was like when she finally saw her children that night.
Couthen said, “That was the best moment of my life. Because I was able to see them. And I know that they were okay. Even though they were crying. They were shook up. I was able to hold them. I was able to grab them. I was able to put them in my arm because it could’ve been different.”
Couthen and her children are staying with her sister until they find a permanent home, and are also receiving help through the Winston-Salem Forsyth County School System. Fire officials say a space heater started the fire.
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