GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — A Gaston County house fire killed two people and their dog on Mother’s Day.
78-year-old Wayne Cabiness and 25-year-old Autumn Payseur died in the Lincolton Road home on Sunday, according to relatives.
Taylor Black, a relative, told Channel 9’s Ken Lemon that Payseur was the man’s granddaughter and caretaker.
The house was at the end of dirt road and can’t be seen from the street. Black lived across the street and called 911 when she saw smoke rising over the trees.
“I was on the phone with 911 as I was running down the driveway,” she said.
Black said she wanted to go inside, but the smoke was too intense.
“The worst part is standing there and not being able to do anything,” she said.
Four other family members lived in the house, relatives said, but were not home at the time of the fire. They lost almost everything they owned.
Black said the whole family considered that house to be home.
“I was there every day,” Black said. “I baked a cake with this family, I eat supper with this family.”
Relatives told Lemon that Cabiness was a widower and Payseur had agreed to be his caregiver. And that had brought a lot of comfort to the family.
“We didn’t have to worry too much,” Black said. “He wasn’t alone.”
Family members said they believe the fire started with an electrical problem. They believe it likely came from a cord power a heat lamp warming chickens on the front porch.
Cabiness kept a farm on the property. His family members have vowed to keep the farm and take care of the animals in his honor.
“That’s what he’d want and that’s what he’s getting,” Cabiness’s cousin Terry Cabiness told Lemon.
A pet poodle was also killed in the fire. Family members told Lemon that Cabiness loved his poodle and took it with him everywhere. They said firefighters found the two of them together.
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