A firefighter not only lost his house after a spark from electrical wiring grew into a large blaze, but lost the home that took his family 30 years to build.
Since Wednesday, the community has come together to show his family support and get them back on their feet.
Dwight Hill, a 30-year veteran firefighter with Valley Hill Fire & Rescue, and his wife went to work Wednesday, but soon received a call that their home was in flames.
The family had built a life full of memories in their home on Stanwood Lane, which was destroyed, said Chief Tim Garren with Valley Hill Fire & Rescue.
The fire originated in the attic and quickly spread to the rest of the home. When multiple fire and rescue teams arrived it was a fully involved fire, which took about three hours to contain, Garren said.
Once crews extinguished the fire, everything in the home was beyond salvageable.
“They truly, really lost everything,” Garren said.
Friday, the investigation determined the cause was electrical, said Henderson County Assistant Fire Marshal Joe Swain.
Hill lived in the home with his wife and their two dogs, and no one was injured.
“They're just taking it day by day,” Garren said. “They're still staying at a local motel and trying to find a place to rent. They have had to go and obtain some of the basics of life.”
Since Hill is one of the fire department's own members, the entire county has come together to lend support. On Wednesday, the “Dwight Hill Benefit Fund” was set up and as of Friday about $4,000 had been donated, Garren said.