Police officer loses home in fire, community rallies to support

Dec. 15--Brunswick Police Lt. Edward J. Hall has put in a long and distinguished career with the city, long enough to buy a home and pay off the mortgage.

Unfortunately, insuring the home was put in limbo recently because of pending roof repairs.

That proved to be bad timing. Fire destroyed the home on Shady Lane in Glynn County on Friday morning, killing a family cat in the process.

The blaze left the veteran police officer, his wife Cynthia, his adult son and the two family dogs homeless, just two weeks before Christmas.

"His house was paid off, but the roof required repairs before the insurance company would insure it, so he did not have insurance," said Brunswick Police Capt. Angela Smith. "He had lived there for many, many years."

The American Red Cross has put the family up temporarily at a hotel.

Members of the public safety community wasted little time mobilizing to assist the Hall family, passing the hat Friday night to do what they could.

Over the weekend that initial effort grew into a community-wide outreach for the family, with a fund-raising account set up at a local bank and another established online.

"The community has really come through for them in just a matter of hours," Smith said. "The community has definitely proved that this is the season for giving."

The fire started at 10:18 a.m. and Glynn County firefighters were on scene within a minute with two fire trucks, a ladder truck and a tanker truck, Capt. Jerome Johnson said. Firefighters battled what they are calling an accidental fire for two hours before clearing the scene, he said.

Colleagues in the law enforcement and fire-rescue communities rallied immediately for Hall and his family.

"Basically the public safety community around here is passing the hat and trying to raise money to help him and his family out," Johnson said Friday night. "That's all public safety -- Glynn county fire and police, Brunswick police and fire, the sheriff's office and Georgia State Patrol. It's bad to lose your house at any time of the year, but it's especially bad at this time of the year."

Hall has served the Brunswick Police Department for 30 years, Smith said. He did a stint in the Coast Guard prior to that. In his three decades on the Brunswick force, Hall has made many friends in the department and in the community he serves.

"He is a helper to everyone that he meets," said Smith, a 10-year veteran of the department. "He has trained a lot of officers here at the department and he's always willing to share his lifelong experience and knowledge with new officers."

"The family not only lost the house but everything they owned inside. They have to start all over," Smith said.

For the immediate future the family is looking to rent a place that is big enough for the three of them and is dog-friendly, Smith said.

"Their pets are part of the family so they prefer to take them along," Smith said.

Donations to the family can be made to the Edward J. Hall III Benefit Fund account at any Heritage Bank branch, including the one at 150 Altama Connector. Donations can also be made online at: www.gofundme.com/edwardjhallbenefit.

Reporter Larry Hobbs writes about government, public safety and other local topics. Contact him at lhobbs@thebrunswicknews.com or at 265-8320, ext. 320.

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