LONGVIEW, Texas — East Texans are known to be very willing to help each other out, especially in a time of need. That kindness was on display when helping a mother and son recover from a small fire in their Longview home sparked a new friendship between two acquaintances.
Rocio Hernandez and her son Lucas are back to their everyday routine of playing with toys and watching his favorite show in the living room. Every part of their home looks untouched, until someone finds an ugly reminder in the laundry room of when their dryer caught fire as they were preparing for a Halloween event.
"We were sitting right (on the couch), my son was watching TV and from our air vent we started seeing actual smoke," Hernandez said.
Hernandez and her sister grabbed Lucas and quickly evacuated their home.
"I immediately rushed outside and decided to call 911," Hernandez said. "It took about a minute or two for them to get here."
As soon as the fire was extinguished, Hernandez reached out on social media and asked for help to clean her house. The owner of Lemon Breeze Cleaning Jennifer Moss saw that message, responded quickly and offered their cleaning services for free.
"Her crew came and I was just expecting maybe like a small little clean but she literally cleaned my house from top to bottom," Hernandez said.
Moss wasted no time to answer this call to action and helped wipe away all the smoke residue and made sure Hernandez and her family can live in a clean home again.
"It's just so heartwarming to see Lucas safe," Moss said. "That's my big thing is making sure all these families are safe and healthy. My crew, as soon as we left here that day, they said this clean meant more to us than any other clean we've ever done."
People who were once two acquaintances and had seen each other a few times around the city have now become a new friends. It all started with a small kind gesture when Hernandez and her family were in need.
They both have a message to share with the rest of East Texas about a simple act of kindness.
"Just be a neighbor," Moss said. "Being a neighbor is more than just being beside each other. It’s about caring for each other."
Hernandez added that people should remain grateful.
"Do not take anything for granted because at the end of the day thankfully I have a clean home but also my family is okay," Hernandez said.
Hernandez encouraged people to always check their smoke detectors and have a plan in case a fire breaks out in their home. Her detectors went off after they were already in the home and now she plans to always test them and make sure they are working properly.