06/06/2025
A widower, his son, daughter and grandchildren were home enjoying a great night with one another laughing, talking, playing video games and the like when his 16 year old granddaughter came rushing out to express that the backyard was on fire. Running room to room, the 16 year old ensured that everyone knew what was occurring and she rushed to get two of her younger siblings out. The 16 year old minor's mother, a disabled U.S. Army Veteran, made sure that everyone was out of the home and as she was exiting, the homeowners son ran back into the home. Unsure as to why he ran back in, the homeowner's daughter began screaming his name and ran to grab the water hose to spray down the front of the house where a palm tree was burning near the front door. Yelling her brother's name and receiving no response, the homeowner's daughter began drenching herself in preparation to run in for her brother when he finally came rushing back out of the house. Still worried about the front of the home and lacking the appearance of emergency personnel, the homeowner's daughter continued working diligently to put out the fire that was on the palm tree and roof. When emergency personnel finally arrived and began putting out the flames in the front and the back, which was engulfed in flames, the homeowner's daughter finally put down the hose and walked away.
While this was occurring, there was a brave 18 year old, Demien, working diligently to rescue a dog that was in the backyard. Beau, who was chained under the directives of Animal Control and with items provided by Animal Control, was thankfully rescued by him with the help of a neighbor. A media person provided a knife toward the end of these rescue attempts, which was a great assist to Demien, who had already torn down the back gate in an attempt to notify the family and when he couldn't get past the flames, began rescuing the dog with the neighbor spraying him and the dog. Demien ended up being hospitalized for smoke inhalation after he rescued Beau and after his release, the family walked the neighborhood looking for him until they finally found him. Demien is an amazing and remarkable 18 year old with a wonderful mother and sisters whose plan for his life is breathtaking. His goal is to become a firefighter in the U.S. Marine Corps, later become a medical professional and also work in real estate.
All in all, the fire department went to this family's home four times in less than 12 hours in order to fully extinguish this fire that was due to arson. The last trip to the family's home, the fire department also had to extinguish a fire that had begun on the roof of a neighbor's home due to the fire department's failure to fully extinguish the fires. The area in which this fire occurred has had numerous instances of arson, with the fire department being called out days prior. The family's patriarch is a 72 year old widower who lost his wife during the COVID pandemic in 2020. His only son was left partially disabled after being run over on the 4th of July a couple of years ago. One of his three daughters served over ten years in the military and is a disabled veteran. It was her oldest daughter who alerted everyone to th@e imminent danger that they were in due to yet another arson. He is a minister at a small local church, a hard worker, a beloved family man and all around great person. The clean up and repair of the home will reach in excess of $10k, not including the cost of permits that must be paid for in order to begin the repairs. The family home is uninhabitable at present, and they are seeking any assistance possible to repair and rebuild. Clothes have been ruined, home appliances such as washer and dryer have been destroyed due to the heat of the fire, windows were busted and broken, doors torn down, roof had holes cut into it as did the ceiling in multiple rooms with the kitchen ceiling being torn down completely. More pictures can be found on the linked GoFundMe. The family is receptive to any and all information and assistance from any entities. https://gofund.me/75467b95
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