Toxic Mold Drives Family From Home

DUDLEY, Mass. -- A year ago, a Dudley family moved into what they thought was their dream home. Now, they're starting from scratch after discovering that a potentially deadly mold took over their house.

NewsCenter 5's Jorge Quiroga reported that Jason and Jennifer Jakubowski and their three children now have no place to live. Thirteen months ago, they bought their first house after a home inspection gave the dwelling a clean bill of health.

"It's very sad. It's emotionally draining," Jennifer Jakubowski said. "I started getting sick. I woke up every morning with headaches and stuffed up nose."

First Jennifer, then her young son Jacob and daughter Clair got sick. Their 5-month-old daughter Lily was born with a rash that won't go away.

"Everything's just covered in mold. And the family was sick. Everybody was coughing and sneezing and sniffling," environmental expert Richard Power said.

Environmental investigators found the house overwhelmed with toxic mold -- in the attic, hidden above ceiling panels, behind walls and underneath floor boards.

"It's unbelievable they were able to live here as long as they did," Power said.

Everything they own, from bedding, clothes, appliances, furniture, even the family pictures -- all had to be dumped.

"When I read the samples under the microscope, there were so many spores present we had to report them as too numerous to count," Martha Kneizys of Pro-Science Services said.

Last week, the Jakubowskis evacuated. Nothing is covered by insurance.

"I think somebody went to a lot of work to cover up something that is now a health hazard for us," Jason Jakubowski said.

The house has to be gutted down to the studs and then treated. Feeling bad for the family, experts are doing all the analysis work for free. The family is considering taking legal action but they have a more immediate concern -- how to rebuild and replace everything they owned.