AKRON, Ohio — An Akron couple is rebuilding not just their home but also the bakery business they lost in a fire on Feb. 10.
Louise Bane operated a licensed home bakery, WezzieCakes, on Stabler Road, with her husband, Aaron Bane, until an early-morning fire broke out.
"I hear him say, 'Louise, wake up. I think the house is on fire,'" Louis Bane said.
The two jumped up from their bed on the second floor, but once he looked down the steps, Aaron Bane could tell there was fire behind a door.
"You never think that within 10 seconds of you waking up that you're going to be fighting for your life, and when I saw that orange glow, I knew we had to go," he said.
When the couple realized there was no escape on the first floor, Aaron Bane knocked out an air conditioning unit and a window on the second floor. He then jumped down to this driveway, which at the time was covered with ice. And then, he turned around and caught his wife as she jumped into his arms.
"I was calm enough because God gave us that calm. I knew, I trusted Him that we were going to be taken care of," Bane said.
But when the flames were knocked down, the charred damage left behind was overwhelming. The couple lost almost all of their belongings, including Louise Bane's baking equipment, worth thousands of dollars.
"Mixers. I have an edible printer, that's gone. I have so many tools, when I'm sculpting, I need them. All of that is gone," she said.
The sweet treats Bane bakes consist of unique, custom-sculpted cakes that have designs with intricate detail.
Louise Bane said investigators told her the fire was electrical and started in a wall, and now, she's starting over— from scratch.
She said insurance will cover the loss of home items, but not her business inventory. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help replace some of those baking supplies and help her rent a kitchen somewhere until the couple rebuilds their home and business.
"I have family and friends. Everybody has been helping. Akron's community is wonderful," said Bane.
Bane said she can't wait to go back to doing what she loves— creating cakes that lead to double takes.
"Being able to do that again would help me through the tragic event we just went through," she said.
Bob Jones is the Summit, Stark and Tuscarawas counties reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on X @BobjonesTV, or email him at BJones@wews.com.
