Aiken fire survivor once lost his legs, now his home

AIKEN, S.C. (WJBF) — A sanitation worker who lost his legs in an accident in Aiken County two years ago now faces a new battle after a housefire destroyed his home. “I start hearing pops. I kid you not, sound like gunshots pop bang pop,” Matthew Lex recalled.

The fire at Matthew’s home on Friday, June 6 spread fast. Windows shattered. What sounded like explosions followed. Inside—Matthew, an amputee, fighting to get out. “I threw my legs off,” he said. I took because my leg was half off. I threw this leg up and I bolted for the back door. The time I got out there, the battery exploded. It sounded like a train locomotive exploded.”

“He was here going down the hill,” neighbor Charlie Stokes Jr. said. “And we just basically told him he didn’t need to go any further, that we would get him, you know, where he needs to be as far as to safety and everything.”

Smoke, flames, and water wrecked everything. Matthew’s safe space — gone. His wheelchairs and medical gear — destroyed.

“You can see the damage, and this is a picture of our family in Myrtle Beach when my husband and I melted,” his mother Cheryl Welsh showed Shawn. “And you can see it’s melted. So, a lot of memories, a lot of pain in this room because we came here and we watched a lot of movies and spent quality time together. So, this is a very surreal situation. It’s painful.”

Matthew says the 911 dispatcher was confused—and it took nearly 40 minutes to get help. His family wants to know why the closest fire station did not respond. “I always have had a concern because even when Matthew was injured in his accident, I’m concerned about Aiken and their timeliness to some of these,” Cheryl added.

They’re staying with relatives for now but say Matthew’s wheelchair makes it tough. They need a more accessible home — and answers.

“It doesn’t matter about a district at that time. It matters about life and the sanctity of life and whatever it takes to save lives,” she said.

“We’ve been through a lot — pinned between a Dodge Caravan, the garbage truck, escaping a burning house. You gotta be brave,” Matthew added.

A Go-fund-me has been set up to help the family. You can donate, here.