Cedar Key family's home destroyed by fire

This morning in Cedar Key, FL, our very good friends, Scotty Moots and his daughter, Ella, lost almost everything in a devastating house fire. To say they were lucky is putting things mildly. A bit before 5:30 am, they were awakened by their dog, Noodles, who was barking at a loud noise. That noise, it turned out, was a fire on the back porch of the small cracker house they were renting. It had already spread from the yard to the porch when Scotty first opened his bedroom door. He grabbed both Ella and Noodles and exited through the front door to safety. Just for an instant, he thought about going back into the living room, which was not yet burning, to grab his wallet, phone and keys (very bad idea), but the radiant heat was already too extreme. They were all safe outside, thanks to the dog, with only minutes to spare. The house, along with their belongings, was a total loss as you can see in the photo.

Scotty is well-loved in the small coastal community, being an integral part of the aquaculture industry there. His daughter, Ella, is 9 yrs old and demonstrating maturity far beyond her years under these circumstances. While they still have what is most important, they're now faced with starting over from scratch. Scotty would never ask for help from another person, so I'm doing it for him. We need more people like this in the world, so any little bit of assistance will be greatly appreciated.