A truck fire in Boise led to the death of a toddler. The parents and their children are now trying to recover physically and emotionally.
BOISE, Idaho — A Nampa family is dealing with unimaginable loss after a truck fire led to the death of their two-year-old daughter.
Kenny and Rachel Homer, parents of Onix River Stone Homer, suspect that the fire that claimed their child’s life and destroyed their truck was ignited by a lithium battery.
As KTVB reported Thursday, the truck fire started around 11:15 a.m. near West Irving Street and North Manville Street, according to the Boise Fire Department.
The Homer’s and their other two children, Eevee Rainbow Gem Homer and Dragonair Rain Dance Homer are now at a burn center in Salt Lake City, Utah, with all of them suffering from severe burns.
The parents, who spoke with KTVB from the burn center in Salt Lake City, shared their story of heartbreak and resilience.
Rachel said the fire broke out when the family made a stop at her mother’s house to jump-start a bus.
“We were using one of the bad chargeable battery jumpers to jump start a battery on a bus that we were trying to sell,” Rachel told KTVB Saturday.
Rachel said she was retrieving a gas can and in, “just a couple seconds; I turned around, it was already on fire.”
The parents believe the power tools and other batteries they kept in the truck for their family business made the fire worse.
The three children were in the car when the fire started.
“The really important thing is the dangers of lithium batteries, that there’s not really enough warnings on certain things like that, that they can just explode and cause such a quick fire”, Rachel said. “It’s avoidable, and I just don’t want anybody else to have to go through what we went through, and have to blame themselves for something that they could have prevented.”
According to Rachel, their 10-month-old son Dragonair Rain Dance Homer is in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and their four-year-old daughter Eevee Rainbow Gem Homer has burns on 30% of her body.
Rachel was burned on her hands, face, and scalp, trying to save her children.
She revealed to KTVB Saturday that she is also currently pregnant.
Father Kenny Homer, who has burns on his hands and face, has chosen to stay by his wife’s side through her care rather than receiving as much medical attention as the rest of his family, Rachel said.
“We need each other right now,” Kenny said. “I don’t want to be alone with my own thoughts.”
The family’s grief is compounded by the loss of their livelihood as the fire destroyed their truck, which the Homer’s used for work.
“Everything in the bed of the truck with all the tools, was how I made a living,” Kenny said.
Rachel and Kenny said they are leaning on each other during this time and focusing on hope for the future while remembering their daughter Onix River Stone Homer.
“We’re just trying to focus on the fact that we still have two of our children,” she said. “Our two-year-old that we lost has been on our mind this whole time, and trying really hard not to dwell on the really bad part, trying to remember her in a happy way.”
Rachel urged a public message, she said to, “always hug your kids and make sure that they know you love them.”
The Homer’s are in for a long road to recovery—from a health and financial standpoint.
The Homers’ GoFundMe is set up to help the family cover medical expenses and reestablish their lives.
Kenny said he is also reachable through their Homers On Homes family business.
