Few things could be as devastating as losing your home and all your belongings to fire a week before Christmas, yet Jerry and Carolyn Sharp say they are amazed by unexpected blessings.
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The fire at their home located on Hwy. 190 north of Jamesport started at around 3:30 pm on Monday, Dec. 15. Both Carolyn and Jerry were at work at the Chillicothe Correctional Center at the time.
When they pulled into their driveway they found a yard full of people. A brother-in-law Troy Smith who works at Trenton had been called by Carolyn’s sister Nancy. He’d gotten there immediately. He, along with several neighbors, tried to get out of the burning house what they could, though most of it was already badly smoke-damaged.
"Our house is just a pile of cement and metal now," said Carolyn. "Our neighbors worked very hard, but the smoke was too great."
The Sharps commend the Jamesport Fire Department.
"The Jamesport Fire Department was absolutely fantastic," said Carolyn. "They try to take care of you emotionally as well as fight the fire. They did both."
Despite the firefighters’ efforts, the house was consumed. Among the things lost were the Christmas presents the Sharps had bought recently from a vacation in the Smoky Mountains.
As the night wore on, Jerry and Carolyn got really tired and went to stay with their daughter Marcie Heckenbach in Gallatin.
Their neighbors on the hill, Eli and Betty Gingrich, continued to watch their house. At about 2 a.m. in the morning, Eli called to say the fire had started back up and he had called the fire department again. Carolyn and Jerry returned.
"We went back over there," said Carolyn. "Both times, Eli and Betty and their whole family not only watched the house, but they brought food, coffee and hot chocolate. They were right there, working tirelessly."
Carolyn and Jerry said they received as many as six different offers of places to stay free-of-charge. Chris Trout with State Farm arrived that very night to hand the Sharps an insurance check to cover emergency needs. Dr. Larry Dickinson called an all-night pharmacy to make sure Carolyn and Jerry did not have to go without their medication for even a night. Their son-in-law, Tom Bonderer, picked up their medications for them.
"There was a million people there to help," said Carolyn. "Our yard was full of Amish neighbors, neighbors from all around, a friend drove all the way from Kirksville."
"There’s no way we could ever thank everybody," said Jerry.
Among those they wish they could thank is a man in a red pickup who was driving by and saw the smoke and made the initial 9-1-1 call. They don’t know who he was.
Carolyn and Jerry don’t know if they’ll rebuild, or what they’ll do. There are still many things to take care of. Since the house was totaled, a fire marshal from Columbia will come and look at it. The Sharps say the house was all electric, so that is what they suspect as the cause of the fire.
"We really can’t think beyond today," said Carolyn.
Despite their loss, they are grateful for family, friends and neighbors.
"We really can’t believe the blessings there have been," said Carolyn. "The things that have been done for us are more than we could have ever expected."