In the early morning hours of November 23rd, our dear friends Chelsea and Jim awoke to their home on fire. As they struggled to assess where the flames were coming from, their entire roof, attic, and ceilings were almost completely engulfed. They had barely enough time to escape the house and did so with just the clothing on their backs. The blaze took over two hours for the Tallahassee Fire Department to control.

https://www.wowt.com/video/2025/11/23/tfd-residential-structure-pine-view-drive-catches-fire-early-saturday-morning/

They feel incredibly fortunate to have gotten out and that their twin 9-yr old girls were at Girl Scout camp for the night. They did, however, lose their sweet and beyond social cat, Simon, along with every possession, picture, and tangible memory that lived within those walls. They are still looking for their girl's sweet kitten, Pepper. By a true miracle, the TFD rescued their bunny, Bun Bon, and their other sweet kitten, Parsley. They thank everyone for their heroism and kindness on that day and will be forever grateful for the community, neighbors, loved ones and strangers for their continual support, donations, messages, cards, and for spreading the word on home fires like theirs.

As they continue to rebuild their lives and put the pieces back together, one of their greatest goals is to spread their message of how to keep others safe from such a tragedy. One of the biggest lessons was how imperative it is to have a heat detector in your attic. While they know that this may not have saved their home, it would have added invaluable time. Time to get their pets. Time to get their irreplaceable belongings. Time to get more than just the clothes on their backs.

If you take nothing more from this harrowing story, please help spread the word. House fires happen all the time. Approximately every 8 minutes in the US, the American Red Cross responds to a home fire which is the leading disaster responded to nationwide. The most destructive house fires are electrical and you can't see it coming. The average time to escape a home 40 years ago was 17 minutes. Today, you have as little as 2-3 minutes. Install smoke alarms on every level in your home. The Red Cross will do this for free or you can contact your local fire department. Have an escape plan. Teach children to duck and crawl when there is smoke. Close doors while sleeping and even bathroom doors to help the fire from moving faster. Feel a door before opening. Change fire alarm batteries monthly. Get out of the house and stay out. In the end, it's just belongings, and as painful as it is to lose those things, you cannot replace a life. They feel blessed and so thankful while many others are not.