Community rallies around Hope Mills family after lightning strike causes house fire
By Rodger Mullen, The Fayetteville Observer, N.C. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
It ended with an outpouring of love and support that amazed the
On the afternoon of
"We heard a loud boom,"
As it turned out, lightning had struck the Keiblers' home. And that lightning started a fire in the attic.
After being alerted to the smoke pouring from the house by a neighbor, Jim called his wife, Tami, who was at her pharmacy job.
"He said, 'The house is on fire. I'm not kidding,'"
Keibler got the children out of the house, along with one of the family's two cats. The other one, Buttons, would be found later -- scared but alive -- beneath a recliner.
"Flames were shooting out of the attic and about to catch this tall pine tree on fire,"
Insurance has covered most of the family's financial needs, but there are some things money cannot replace. Treasured items lost in the fire included Tami's wedding dress, Jim's baseball card collection, old yearbooks and a family china set.
The Keiblers said the house was so badly damaged it will have to be leveled.
From the start, the Keiblers said, the community rallied around them.
It started with the sister of a neighbor,
The family said Cotton,
The support continued in the weeks after the fire. The family was offered lodging by at least a dozen people, they said. Several people gave them clothes, and one family offered the use of its beach house. The congregation at the Keiblers' church,
Even Animal Urgent Care, where the family took Buttons to be checked after she survived the fire, would not accept payment, the Keiblers said.
"I went into work yesterday and somebody had anonymously left me a
At first, the Keiblers said they were a bit embarrassed by the generosity. After all, no one was injured, and insurance was going to help them get back on their feet.
But they quickly learned to accept the help in the spirit in which it was given.
"We began to realize that we were allowing people to reach out to us in a way that was not only a blessing to us but a blessing to them,"
Staff writer
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