New Iberia family struggles with loss

July 4 house fire killed young mother, injured daughter; Lewis home had no smoke detector; blaze blamed on overloaded circuit Shay Randle • grandle@theadvertiser.com • July 8, 2008 Nine year-old Jasmine Lewis lies in a hospital in New Iberia recovering from injuries after a fire that destroyed her home on the morning of July 4. She has told family and neighborhood friends who visit her that she can't wait to get home and see her mother. But that won't happen. Her mother, Tracey Lewis, 33, died in the fire, caused by an overloaded circuit near an air conditioner in their living room. The home had no smoke detector to warn them of the fire, and blocked bedroom windows — one by a headboard and the other by a window air-conditioning unit — made it nearly impossible for the pair to escape the home on Silver Street in New Iberia... [read full story]