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Family wants answers from Entergy after power lines catch home on fire

5 years 3 months 2 weeks ago Friday, January 04 2019 Jan 4, 2019 January 04, 2019 10:23 PM January 04, 2019 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - A family in Baton Rouge is fed up. Burning power lines started a fire in their home nearly two months ago. Now, they're still looking for a new one and hoping Entergy will help.

“It’s just at a standstill,” said Ida Banks.

Banks has been helping her sister Rosie Poke deal with hardship after hardship. Rosie recently had brain surgery. She was getting radiation treatment when she found out her house caught fire.

“It’s been really really hard for her, as well as us,” says Banks.

The house on N. 16th St. is still standing, but the roof has a huge hole in it. Baton Rouge Fire says power lines in the back of the home caught fire and reached the attic in November. Since then, Rosie and her daughter, who’s in a wheelchair, have been staying at her sister Dorothy's house.

“I want to see her compensated as far as her having another home to live in because her home was paid for,” said Dorothy Mitchell.

The family wants Entergy to take some responsibility for the fire.

“It was Entergy's faulty lines,” said Godfrey White.

White used to be the Executive Director of Elderly Affairs for the Governor’s Office. He's helping the family get the help he believes they deserve.

“For [Entergy] to have the audacity to not communicate with us, something’s wrong with that picture," said White.

Entergy told WBRZ they're conducting an internal investigation, but haven't released any other information. The sisters now feel like they're left in limbo.

“I feel like they're neglecting [Rosie],” said Mitchell.

Red Cross provided Rosie nearly $500 after the fire.

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