TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. – A family with two young children lost their home in Tarpon Springs and nearly everything was destroyed in a lightning strike.
In a split second, everything changed for the Stephenson family: Kailyn, Adam, and their two young boys, one 4 years old and one 18 months old.
“The lightning struck very hard, very close, and I knew right away we were a direct hit,” said Kellyanne Stephenson. “I said, ‘Adam, we just got hit by lightning.’ And he goes yeah that was really close. And I said, ‘No, no, we were the judges, our house just got hit by lightning.
They get up and start checking the house when Colon says that he might soon smell something electric.
“By the time I came halfway down the stairs, smoke was coming out of that vent, the AC vent, and at that point, we knew we had really caught fire and needed to get out of the house,” he said. Kellyanne.
Stephenson Family
Tarpon Springs Fire Rescue believes a lightning strike was to blame. After the strike, the relatives informed the neighbors about the fire.
“We were on our way with our neighbours. There was a time when you couldn’t even see our house, the smoke was so thick and so bad,” said Adam Stephenson.
When the family was finally able to move in, they were greeted with soot, ashes and rubble. Calin says the belongings were submerged, while their home was completely damaged and almost everything went with it, including furniture, sentimental items, and irreplaceable items.
Adam said, “To me, it’s material stuff, but we took our time to make it a house to live in, and when we got here, it was just 3 to 5 inches of soot, just mud on the ground.” ” Was.” “One day, I saw the floor, and it’s like, We’re going up. It’s like running through quicksand, but we’re getting there.”
Stephenson Family
Calin says that starting a house fire has always been her number one fear and she describes how devastating it has been to go through the process.
“I can’t think of the big picture because when I do, it’s too much. It’s heavy,” said Kalin. “It’s heavy in the beginning, but it’s more than I can carry “
The family explains that they do not have homeowner’s insurance, and instead, they are left to rebuild their lives while trying to save whatever they can.
To help support the Stephenson family, A GoFundMe has been set up by family members, which also lists other options for donating. At this time, the family says they are holding off on donations such as clothing, toys and equipment during the rebuilding.
For questions about other ways to give a helping hand, contact [email protected]
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