On the night of July 16, Ray Lucas showed the heart of a hero when he put his life on the line in order to save his family. Both 23, he and his girlfriend, Shi’Ann Brown, made a trip to a nearby gas station that took roughly fifteen minutes. The children were left in the care of Ray Lucas’ niece and his mother. Upon returning, the couple was horrified to see the home that they live in covered in flames. When he saw the state of his house, Ray immediately worried about the safety of Malaysia and Milan, their 18-month-old twin daughters. He saw his mother and his niece at the door’s entrance but did not see his daughters in their arms. His mother immediately exclaimed, “Get the babies!”
Because the infants were sleeping in the basement of the dwelling, Ray knew he had a limited amount of time to reach them. Ray said, “I just knew I had to get my babies out. That’s what went through my mind”. Without another thought, he dashed into the blazing house to save the lives of his children. Shi’Ann followed him but couldn’t find her way due to the smoke, collapsing inside the home as a result. Thankfully, Ray managed to get inside the basement and rescue his twin daughters. When thinking over the terrifying ordeal, Ray said, “You really couldn’t see your hand in front of your face—I really only found my babies due to my memory, just knowing where they were and knowing how to get to them—just from having that same route.” Even though they both made it out of the structure with their father, Malaysia underwent treatment for severe burns and Milan suffered second-degree burns and smoke inhalation. The twins spent time in the ICU to recover from their injuries. Ray suffered the most physically from the fire, receiving second and third-degree burns on his body, specifically his face, his eyes, his neck, and his arms, as well as smoke inhalation. When discussing his injuries, Ray said, “I was temporarily blind for three days and they said it was a miracle I could see. I’ve got burns on my arms, but for the most part, everyone is still here.”
The unfortunate result of the fire is that Ray will be unable to work for an unspecified amount of time, the medical bills are more than they can currently afford, and all of their possessions were lost in the incident. On July 22, Shi’Ann created a Facebook post stating, “These last couple days have been crazy but I just wanted to thank everybody for their support, whether it was prayers, money, clothes, anything, I’m truly grateful. My babies were discharged from the hospital yesterday & their Dad was also discharged. We are now at a hotel & we’re all just working on recovering.” Shi’Ann has mentioned their intent to buy a new home and has asked the public for any housing information or resources they may have. There is also a GoFundMe that has raised $275,803, well past the initial goal of $40,000. Shi’Ann also shared her Cash App ID, $sademarieb, and the family is willing to take anything that can be spared, whether it’s food, clothing, donations, or any other living necessities.
