Family loses home to fire caused by lightning

TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. — A household with 2 young children mislaid their location successful Tarpon Springs and astir everything successful it to a occurrence that was caused by a lightning strike.

In a divided second, everything changed for the Stephenson family: Kailyn, Adam, and their 2 young boys, a 4-year-old and an 18-month-old.

“Lightning struck precise loudly, precise close, and I knew instantly that we were a nonstop hit,” said Kailyn Stephenson. “I said, ‘Adam, we were conscionable deed by lightning.’ And helium goes yea that was truly close. And I said, ‘No, no, we were just, our location was conscionable deed by lightning.”

They got up and started to cheque the location erstwhile Kailyn says she could soon odor thing electrical.

“By the clip I came halfway backmost down the stairs, fume was billowing retired of that vent there, the AC vents, and astatine that moment, we knew that we had so caught connected occurrence and needed to get retired of the house,” said Kailyn.

Tarpon Springs Fire Rescue believes a lightning onslaught was to blame. After the strike, the household helped alert neighbors to the fire.

“We were crossed our mode with our neighbors. There was a clip you couldn’t adjacent spot our house, the fume was truthful heavy and truthful bad,” said Adam Stephenson.

When the household was yet capable to get inside, they were greeted with soot, ash, and debris. Kailyn says belongings had been waterlogged portion their location is simply a full nonaccomplishment and astir everything gone with it, including furniture, sentimental items, and the irreplaceables.

“To me, it’s worldly stuff, but we invested our clip to marque it a location to unrecorded in, and erstwhile we got here, it was conscionable 3 to 5 inches of conscionable soot, nasty conscionable slush connected the ground,” said Adam. “One day, I saw the floor, and it’s like, we’re going uphill. It’s similar moving done quicksand, but we’re getting there.”

Kailyn says a location occurrence has ever been her fig 1 fearfulness and explained however getting done this process has been devastating.

“I can’t deliberation astir the large representation due to the fact that erstwhile I do, it’s excessively much. It’s overwhelming," said Kailyn. "This is overwhelming, to statesman with, but it’s much than I tin take."

The household explains they don’t person homeowner’s insurance, and instead, they’re near to rebuild their lives portion they effort to salvage what they can.

To assistance enactment the Stephenson family, a GoFundMe has been acceptable up by household members, which lists different options to donate arsenic well. At this time, the household says they are holding disconnected connected donations similar clothes, toys, and appliances portion they rebuild.

For questions connected different ways to lend a helping hand, interaction stephensonrelief@gmail.com.