Lino Lakes Home Daycare Devastated By Fire
LINO LAKES, MN (WCCO) -- Ask any parent of a child in her care and it's likely what you're going to hear.
"She's like another mom to our kids, a grandma," Jen McKay said.
For nearly 40 years, Becky Marshall's Lino Lakes house has been home to countless kids. Providing daycare to generations of families, like Jen McKay's.
"My heart just breaks for her and she's such a generous woman," McKay said. "She's helped raise my three kids that are still with her."
On Friday, Marshall was outside her home with seven children in her care. They were all on the playground when she went to the back door to let her dog out. That's where the longtime daycare provider was met by disaster.
"I walked in the backyard and opened the kitchen door and realized smoke just started bellowing out of the house," Marshall said.
Smoke and flames quickly devoured the split-level home. Fire investigators have yet to pinpoint an exact cause, but strongly suspect a faulty light fixture in the basement bath.
Granddaughter Joey Krause says it's about the lives saved and not the property lost.
Clutched in her grandmother's arms, Krause adds, "I'm happy everybody is safe and that she made it out safely. Everybody is fine and she's brave, I'm happy about this."
With her daycare children safe and a treasured family heirloom, a grandmother's quilt safely in hand, Becky can now turn to rebuilding her decades of business.
"I know for sure I will do daycare again. I don't know how long it might take to rebuild but somehow it will work out," Marshall said.
The skilled provider who helped lessen children's trauma of fire by keeping them well away from the smoke and flames. Her home may be charred and ruined but her daycare families, past and present will make sure it is doused with love.
Friends have set up a GoFundMe to help Becky with expenses not covered by insurance.
