Help the Nelsons Rebuild After a Fire Claimed Their Home

Help the Nelson Family Rise From the Ashes

In just 60 seconds, everything changed.

Craig and Ashley had just returned from their evening run. The cool evening air still lingered on their skin as they unlocked their front door, greeted by the chorus of excited voices from their six children. They slipped off their running shoes, sank into the living room couch, and exhaled the day’s stresses—a fleeting moment of peace before the unthinkable.

Then came the piercing wail of the smoke alarm.

“It’s probably nothing,” is what most of us would think. But something in Craig’s gut told him otherwise. He sprang to his feet, following the scent that shouldn’t have been there. When he opened the door to the garage, his worst fears materialized—flames were already climbing the walls, consuming everything in their path.

“EVERYONE OUT! NOW!”

Craig led his family out of the home for the last time. Barefoot.

There was no time to grab photo albums. No time to collect the security blanket that had comforted their youngest through countless nights. No time for shoes. No time for jackets. No time for anything but escape.

The family’s Ring camera captured their final moments in the home they had loved: six children in pajamas and two parents in running clothes, wide-eyed and barefoot, spilling onto the front lawn. Exactly 58 seconds from alarm to evacuation.

They stood together, huddled and shivering, as their home erupted into a roaring inferno before their eyes.

What Was Lost

The fire claimed everything. Two family cars, including their beloved van—the vessel that had carried this family of eight across the country, creating memories at places like the Mall of America and countless other destinations that had filled their children’s eyes with wonder.

“Remember when we went to the Mall of America?” one of their children asked through tears that night, as if holding onto memories might keep them from burning too.

Ben, their oldest son, lost the bedroom he had only recently been given—his first taste of privacy and independence as he prepared for adulthood. The other children lost all their toys, from Nintendo Switches to treasured items they’d had since they were toddlers. One of the younger children lost the security blanket that had provided comfort through countless nights.

They lost clothes, furniture, appliances. They lost family photos dating back generations. They lost handprint Christmas ornaments and Mother’s Day cards stored in memory boxes. They lost the height marks penciled on the kitchen doorframe of the home they had lived in for just about a year.

But what hurts most isn’t the things—it’s the sanctuary. The place where six children felt completely safe. The walls that held their laughter, their tears, their arguments, their reconciliations. The home where they were supposed to grow up.

What Remains

What remains is what escaped the flames that night: a family. Intact. Alive. Together.

“We have what matters most,” Craig told his children as they watched firefighters battle the blaze in their Dallas, Texas home that was consuming their past. And he meant it.

But now this family needs our help to rebuild their future.

How You Can Help

Fortunately, insurance will cover the building costs of the home, but it could be as long as six months to a year before they can move in. In the meantime, the family will be living in an Airbnb.

But one thing insurance won’t cover is replacing the family van and other precious items that fall just outside of their coverage limits. The family needs:

• A new family van to replace their beloved travel companion

• School supplies, so the children can maintain normalcy

• Funds to bridge the gap between insurance coverage and actual replacement costs

Every donation, no matter the size, helps this family begin again.

Please donate what you can and share their story widely. Together, we can show this family that although flames may have taken their house, our community’s love burns even brighter.

All funds will go directly to the Nelson family to cover immediate needs not met by insurance, with priority given to replacing their family van and providing essential items for their six children.