MOSSY POND FIRE
by Teresa Eubanks, CLJNews.com
MOSSY POND – John LaFollette was home in his recliner, recovering after three surgeries on a badly broken leg, when he heard an odd noise last month.
The 78-year-old got out of of his chair and used a knee walker with a bench to push himself through the mobile home to look for the source of the unusual sound.
“He crawls to the other side of the trailer and looks up into the porch rafters where wires are clicking and catching on fire,” said his wife, Kim, 58. He called 911. “The house went down in about eight minutes,” she said.
The blaze not only destroyed the couple’s home, but burned up several storage trailers and sheds along with a bulldozer and a pickup truck, according to Mossy Pond Fire Chief Dominick Rhodes. “The fire fully involved the woods,” he said. “We had to put three bulldozers on the ground.”
Volunteer firefighters responded to the March 2 scene at 2 p.m. and continued battling the blaze until after 5 p.m.
The couple, whose property is located northwest of Shelton’s Corner in Calhoun County, were left with little more than a charred landscape.
The one saving grace was that several animals they keep in a fenced-in area on the far side of the property were unharmed. “The fire was headed their way,” Kim said. “The fire department volunteers were incredible; they saved them.”
The couple had still not recovered from damages left by Hurricane Michael more than four years ago. “We were just starting to recoup from the hurricane,” she said, explaining that the storm took down their pole barn and fences.
They’ve got a lot to assess. Her husband recently completed chemotherapy after being diagnosed with cancer. A short time later, a trailer fell on his leg and left it badly broken.
Now what? “We’re going to sit tight for a little while and just breathe,” she said. “We’re tired.”
They’ve received some help and are now living in a borrowed RV on their property. “My boss gave me a toaster oven, an employee at McDonald’s brought me a crock pot and we’ve been given some clothing,” she said, and added, “It’s been a long, long two months.”
As the days pass, they recall more of the things they lost in the blaze – like a quilt sewn by John’s mother, numerous family photos and mementos as well as her husband’s “amazing Cummins diesel engine.”
She admits it’s hard to leave the large home they had to fit into an RV but is quick to admit it’s not such a challenge “since we don’t have much to put in it anyway.”
The couple expressed their appreciation to local law enforcement as well as the firefighters from the Mossy Pond and Clarksville volunteer fire departments, along with a crew from the Forestry Office. “People don’t realize how important these volunteer firefighters are. They left their homes or jobs to help us, brought their equipment and were very thorough and quick.”
Their loss is devastating but she is able to put it in perspective, noting, “Everybody is just doing the best they can. We’ve all got to help each other.”
She has returned to her work as a house cleaner in Panama City and supplements their income with an online t-shirt embroidery business, located at expressyourselfamerica.com.
Anyone who would like to assist the couple can do so by calling (850) 928-9000, stopping by their facebook page at Kimberly LaFollette or visiting their Go Fund Me page, listed under the name John and Kim LaFollette’s House Fire. Donations can also be made to Ameris Bank in their names.
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