My name is Cleveland Jones, and this GoFundMe is being set up on behalf of my younger brother, James (JC) Jones.

On the morning of December 17th at about 5:30am James woke out of his sleep with his bedroom covered by a cloud of black smoke. He, without thinking, told his girlfriend (who is with child) to exit the front door... He then felt his way through the house, screaming his 3 year old son's name who was somewhere in the cloud of smoke. After finally finding his son, James was able to throw his son out of the house before he collapsed from smoke inhalation, still trapped inside.

There were multiple attempts made by nearby family members and a good samaritan to enter the house and find James, but the smoke was too thick to overcome. About 5 minutes after the last attempt to enter, those present were relieved to see a police squad car pull up to the scene. These brave officers were able to enter the house and pull James to safety from the flames. (It was later speculated by the fire forensic investigators that the fire was caused by an electrical issue on the back of the house).

Unconscious from smoke inhalation, James was loaded into an emergency vehicle where it was determined that he was in critical condition due to smoke inhalation and he was life flighted to Hermann Memorial Hospital in Houston, Texas. James spent about 12 hours in critical condition, but the medical professionals at Hermann were able to save my brother's life! He's expected to make a full recovery! Aside from the smoke inhalation, he miraculously made it out of the situation with minor burns to his nose and ear! We thank GOD!

In this fire, my brother lost everything he owns. The flames even reached the vehicle he drove that was parked in the driveway. There were 2 adults in the house and one child at the time of the fire, but the couple has one daughter (who was away with other family members) and a child on the way. The home that was destroyed by the fire was a family home that had been passed down for 4 generations.

Although James recovered from critical condition quickly (he was removed from his ventilator about 16 hours after it was inserted), there will be a long road to 100% recovery for James. Many future treatments, doctor's visits to Houston (70 miles away), prescriptions to be filled, and the cost of the ambulance trip, life flight and hospital stay all hang in the balance, but this GoFundMe is intended to help my little brother restart his life with his family after losing everything. If you can find it in your heart to donate this holiday season and possibly beyond, anything counts!

We thank God for this miracle and we know that he works in mysterious ways. Although property was burned, there were no lives lost, and for that we thank God! He makes no mistakes!