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By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN CENTRAL FALLS — As one extended Lincoln family is coping with being burned out of their house and losing their possessions, the Central Falls mother of the boy killed in the fire is grieving for her son and wondering how she will pay her bills.
Family members have identified the victim of Sunday’s tragic fire as 7-year-old Nasir Dickerson of Central Falls. The boy’s mother, Shannon Dickerson, said he lived with her, along with his six siblings and maternal grandmother, at 66 Hawes St. in that city. The boy perished on Sunday in an early morning blaze at 3 Earl St. in Lincoln. While four adults and four other children jumped from a porch roof or otherwise managed to escape, Nasif apparently had panicked and had backed away. Due to the intense heat and flames, rescuers were unable to get to the boy, and they later found his body near a stairway inside the heavily damaged house. Dickerson said Nasir, who was the oldest of her seven children, had gone with his maternal grandfather, Joseph Gibson, on Saturday night to visit Gibson’s girlfriend Christine Lusiak, and other members of Lusiak’s family, who resided at the house at 3 Earl St. Lusiak’s mother, Mary Moul, reportedly owned the house. Dickerson said that Lusiak’s 13-year-old daughter had an especially close bond with Nasif, and the teen had asked that Gibson bring the boy to the house for an overnight visit. He was expected to return later on Sunday morning. “He was just an incredible little boy. I can’t even find words that would do him justice,” said Dickerson, of her oldest child. She said that he had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) so he was “always on the go. But he was almost always happy,” she added. Nasif was in the second grade at the Veterans Memorial School in Central Falls. On the last day of school that he had attended, Dickerson recalled that he had filled his backpack with toys to share with his classmates. She also said that when her youngest daughter was born, just four months ago, he had been “very helpful and concerned about trying to help with her.” Dickerson said that in the first days following the fire, she had been consumed with her own grief. However, she said that she is now concerned about Lusiak’s daughter. “She’s just a child herself, and she’s blaming herself because she had them come over,” said Dickerson. I was worried about myself, but now I want to reach out to her. Nobody knew that fire was going to happen,” she said. Dickerson, who does not have a job, said she had been struggling to make ends meet for her children, who range in age from four months to six years, prior to Nasif’s death. She said the boy’s father is currently incarcerated, and she and her mother are concerned about how they will continue to maintain their apartment. Dickerson said that her brother has stepped in to help with funeral and burial expenses, but she would be grateful for any donations of clothing, food, or cash. Meanwhile, members of the Moul and Lusiak families, who lost most of their belongings in the fire, have been assisted by the Red Cross and are reportedly staying with relatives. Navigant Credit Union has set up the Moul Family Fund to benefit the members of the extended family. Cash donations may be made to the fund at any of the Navigant Credit Union’s branches throughout the region, according to Ross Silva, who handles marketing for Navigant. In addition, anyone willing to donate clothing or household items to the family is asked to contact Nick Moul at 447-2577, Silva said. The cause of the fire is still under investigation by the state Fire Marshal’s Office.
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