The family spoke exclusively to NBC2 following the death of their mother, Roseanne Cantasano, Monday night.
The family said Roseanne and her partner, Frank, were at opposite ends of the house when it caught fire. Frank rushed to the front and tried to kick the door to try and rescue Roseanne, but it was too late. The roof had caved in and two-story flames were coming out of the home.
More than 1,000 miles away, Lauren McKendry received a call that her mother, Roseanne Cantasano, could not make it out alive from her Poston Ave home in Port Charlotte.
“My mother, she, like all of us, she was a complex person,” she said. “She had her issues, but she was really trying hard to overcome a lot of her trauma. We spoke about that a little bit, and I got a chance to tell her that I could see the progress. I was proud of her for it.”
Just two years ago, McKendry and her family lost her younger sister, Lisa-Marie.
“That was her baby,” she said. “She kind of threw herself into doing everything that she could for the grandkids.”
Now, her family faces this tragedy. In McKendry's eyes, her mom is a hero, who worked as an EMT in New York.
“For years, that is what she did,” McKendry said. “Until her ambulance was in an accident. She had to take disability. There was a patient in the back, and the ambulance was run off the road up onto the curb, and it flipped onto its side, and she covered the patient with her body.”
McKendry said her mother was strong in her faith and would help out anyone she could.
“We hope that she didn't suffer and that she wasn't afraid,” McKendry said. “We hope that she might have been napping on the couch, and Frank would cook dinner. They had a really sweet and loving relationship. And we hope that that was the case and that she was overcome by smoke before she woke up.”
Frank is still in the hospital, recovering from burns and smoke inhalation. The family said they hope to help find Frank a new place to live.
The state fire marshal is still working to find out what caused this fire.
The family said they think an electrical outlet overheated.