Texas Woman Who Lost Family In House Fire While Trying To Stay Warm Will Honor Them

A Texas mom, who lost her mother and three children in a house fire last week while trying to stay warm during a state-wide power outage, is determined to honor the memory of her loved ones.

Jackie Nguyen lost Olivia, 11, Edison, 8, Collete, 5, and her 75-year-old mother, Loan Le, when their home in the Houston suburb of Sugar Land burned down on Feb. 15, 2021, Washington Post reported.

A GoFundMe, which now has more than $300,000 donation, was set up for Nguyen to aid her amid this challenging time. The 41-year-old mother wants to make sure the money is used to form an organization or a foundation.

Nguyen told CNN that she wanted to do something meaningful and lasting for her loved ones. “I [really] want to be thoughtful about it because I want it to be lasting and meaningful,” Nguyen said. “I owe it to everybody's support and their intentions to not be hasty about how those resources are used.”

“Ideally, we would love to honor Olivia, Edison, and Colette with a lasting foundation of some sort,” she wrote on the said page. She also listed performing and visuals arts, autism awareness, and reading and literacy foundations as investment themes that reflect her "kids’ as individuals."

Nguyen described her eldest child as someone mature for her age. Her second child, who had mild autism, was a “sweet boy” and an artist. The youngest child loved dancing, wanted to be a cheerleader and the class president, CNN reported Nguyen as saying.

While speaking about her mother, Nguyen said Le was always there to help her with the children, and added, "I think grandmas are unsung heroes and untold stories.”

Le reportedly moved to Nguyen’s house, which was five miles away from the former's home, during the statewide power and water outages due to the catastrophic winter storm.

According to Sugar Land spokesperson Doug Adolph, Nguyen’s family had lit their fireplace when the power went out to keep themselves warm.

After the kids and their grandmother played some board and card games, they went to sleep.

"Tucked my kids into bed and really the next thing I know I'm in the hospital," Nguyen told CNN. "A few hours later, the fireman and a police officer came and said that no one else made it."

The authorities are still investigating the incident, and the exact cause of the fire remains unknown.