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Family of 6 loses home and all belongings in house fire. The house were they lived burned on Sunday, March 17th while we were at church. William and Bobbie Brown (Papaw and Ninnie as we call them) live in Briceville, TN and are in their early 70s. They did not have home owner’s insurance as William is a disabled veteran that used to work in the coal mines and construction and only receives $ 600 in disability per month. Bobbie works in the laundry department at the nursing home in Norris (Norris Heath and Rehabilitation Center).
Ninnie and her daughter, Marie, had just gotten home from work about 3:30 on this fateful Sunday afternoon. While Marie and her son went out to feed the dogs, they saw smoke and flames in the basement. They grabbed the water hose tried to spray water to extinguish the fire. But, to no avail. So, Dylan hurried up the steps to find his grandmother wondering why the tv had stopped playing. "Ninnie, get out. The house is on fire". Puzzled and confused, Ninnie was led outside to safety. With the grandmother outside, he went back to get his mom's guinea pig.
About this same time, the other daughter, Christy, had left church early to get ready for work (Brown’s Flat Baptist has a 2:00 service). When she came down the hill, she saw the smoke and made a comment that Dylan must be burning some rubbish. As they passed the house she knew something was wrong. There was way too much smoke. When she turned in and got to the bottom of the driveway, one of the most horrifying sights was beheld. Her daughter's, Alexis, bedroom was engulfed in flames. Bobbie and Dylan ran to the car telling Christy to go get the fire department. As you can imagine, there is no cell phone service in Briceville.
A little time had passed, that seemed like an eternity, Christy and the Briceville Volunteer Fire Dept. arrived, followed close behind by the Medford Volunteer Fire Dept. Several people at this point had stopped to see if they could help.
As the rest of us left church, we were met by the son, Franklin, who was flagging us down. He said "Mom and dad’s house is burning to the ground". My wife gasped and cried "Oh, no". We hurried down the mountain to see smoke rolling off of the charred remains of the family home. Martha, my wife, started crying profusely. With traffic stopped on both sides of the road, I looked over the hillside and told Martha that I see Ninnie, Papaw, Marie and Dylan. Everyone is okay.
All we could do is cry and watch the firemen spray water on the fire. The entire structure of the house was in the basement burning. The rest of the evening was full of "What are we going to do now"? "We've lost everything" "We will take it one day at a time".
A fire dept member called the Red Cross who came and gave the family of 6 a $1000 Visa card. The family came and stayed the night with us. My wife took the next week off from work to take everyone shopping for some clothes and basic toiletries. We have started a Facebook campaign and a Go Fund Me page to help raise the money to rebuild. The Pastor and another church member went to some grocery stores and gathered a few boxes of food. Facebook friends have brought over bags and bags of clothes.
Please share and help with any donation that you are led to give. The family thanks you very much.
Ninnie and her daughter, Marie, had just gotten home from work about 3:30 on this fateful Sunday afternoon. While Marie and her son went out to feed the dogs, they saw smoke and flames in the basement. They grabbed the water hose tried to spray water to extinguish the fire. But, to no avail. So, Dylan hurried up the steps to find his grandmother wondering why the tv had stopped playing. "Ninnie, get out. The house is on fire". Puzzled and confused, Ninnie was led outside to safety. With the grandmother outside, he went back to get his mom's guinea pig.
About this same time, the other daughter, Christy, had left church early to get ready for work (Brown’s Flat Baptist has a 2:00 service). When she came down the hill, she saw the smoke and made a comment that Dylan must be burning some rubbish. As they passed the house she knew something was wrong. There was way too much smoke. When she turned in and got to the bottom of the driveway, one of the most horrifying sights was beheld. Her daughter's, Alexis, bedroom was engulfed in flames. Bobbie and Dylan ran to the car telling Christy to go get the fire department. As you can imagine, there is no cell phone service in Briceville.
A little time had passed, that seemed like an eternity, Christy and the Briceville Volunteer Fire Dept. arrived, followed close behind by the Medford Volunteer Fire Dept. Several people at this point had stopped to see if they could help.
As the rest of us left church, we were met by the son, Franklin, who was flagging us down. He said "Mom and dad’s house is burning to the ground". My wife gasped and cried "Oh, no". We hurried down the mountain to see smoke rolling off of the charred remains of the family home. Martha, my wife, started crying profusely. With traffic stopped on both sides of the road, I looked over the hillside and told Martha that I see Ninnie, Papaw, Marie and Dylan. Everyone is okay.
All we could do is cry and watch the firemen spray water on the fire. The entire structure of the house was in the basement burning. The rest of the evening was full of "What are we going to do now"? "We've lost everything" "We will take it one day at a time".
A fire dept member called the Red Cross who came and gave the family of 6 a $1000 Visa card. The family came and stayed the night with us. My wife took the next week off from work to take everyone shopping for some clothes and basic toiletries. We have started a Facebook campaign and a Go Fund Me page to help raise the money to rebuild. The Pastor and another church member went to some grocery stores and gathered a few boxes of food. Facebook friends have brought over bags and bags of clothes.
Please share and help with any donation that you are led to give. The family thanks you very much.