ASHBURN, Va. — Life changed for the Lawrence family the day before Halloween when their house caught fire and destroyed practically everything. Now, their community is helping them rebuild.
Just after 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 30, the Lawrences' garage caught fire, and quickly flames engulfed the three-floor townhouse.
"The fire was just boiling and raging," John Lawrence said. "It was just crazy.”
At the time, his wife Millie and four others, including his 1-year-old grandson were inside.
However, in total, eight of them share the rented townhouse.
His daughter, Saraya Lawrence, was taking a nap with her son in the room across the hall from the garage -- about eight steps from where flames burst out.
“I heard, like, a really, really loud bang, and it kind of shook the house a little bit, and I was assuming someone upstairs had dropped something really heavy," she said. "I was like 'oh my god guys be quiet, Alistair’s sleeping' …I walked to my door over here and opened the door, and on the other side I just saw black smoke coming out of the door and all these flashes of light coming out from behind the door.”
She immediately grabbed her son and ran out the back door.
Thankfully, everyone else made it out safely, too, including her cat.
Pretty much everything in the garage was left charred, and two of the top floor bedrooms sustained significant damage.
The smoke, however, rendered almost everything inside unusable.
“I’m the provider, you know, that’s what I do," John said. "And the fire took that away from me.”
The Loudoun County Fire Marshal's Office said the culprit was an improperly grounded extension cord powering two battery chargers, which overheated.
John said an unexpected protector kept his family safe: the door to the garage.
“I mean the door split in half and everything inside melted, but it basically saved my family, you know?” he said.
Now, his neighbors are stepping up to help.
“They put everyone else before them so now it’s their turn," Scott Fracasso said. "We had to do something to give back to them.”
He's lived across the street from the Lawrence family for about 13 years. They quickly became close friends when they met.
This fire, John said, has brought them even closer.
Fracasso started a gofundme for his family, which has already reached more than $20,000.
"I’m not super surprised that there are a lot of people who are willing to help my dad, just because my dad is like the person who goes out and helps everybody," Saraya said.
John prefers to do the helping, admitting he doesn't like charity.
However, he does know how to turn a tragedy into a comedy.
“House burnt down the day before Halloween, so we made some decorations for the neighborhood," he said, showing off the skulls and tombstones they added to his wife's charred car. "Basically we have our own little inaccessible haunted house. We have a couple of visitors that didn’t make it.”
With the help of the community, though, the Lawrence family will make it.
“Let’s get to work and start rebuilding our lives," John said.
John said he is overwhelmed by the support of not only his neighbors but also strangers who have offered to help.
The fire marshal said thousands of house fires are started by extension cords every year and offered the below suggestions to protect your home:
- Do not overload extension cords.
- Do not substitute extension cords for permanent wiring and outlets. Extension cords are for temporary use only.
- Do not use an extension cord for more than one appliance.
- Make sure the extension cord or temporary power strip you use is rated for the products to be plugged in and is marked for either indoor or outdoor use.
- The appliance or tool that you are using the cord with will have a wattage rating on it. Match this up with your extension cord, and do not use a cord that has a lower rating.
- Inspect cords for damage before use. Check for cracked or frayed sockets, exposed or bare wires, and lose connections. Never use a cord that feels hot or is damaged in any way.
- Buy only cords approved by an independent testing laboratory.