Tasha Williams and her family escaped from a house fire with their lives, and not much else. They lost everything — including four beloved dogs.
Williams, 32, of Damascus woke up at about 11:30 p.m. Jan. 30.
“I smelled smoke, and I ran out of the bedroom,” she said. Her son, Canaan Williams, 5, and daughter, Alexis Stewart, 10, were asleep in the living room. “I saw the wall; it was just engulfed with flames. I ran back in the bedroom, and I told my husband to get up. The house was on fire.”
She and her husband, Michael, 31, put their children in the car.
“I told them I’d be right back, and I ran back in the house to try to get our dogs,” Williams said. Their older daughter, Brianna Stewart, 11, was spending the night with Williams’ parents. “My husband screamed at me and told me to get out of the house,” she said. “I ran back out and got in the car with my kids and noticed that my car key was in my house, so I got them out of the car, and as I’m getting out of the car, of course, I’m on the phone with 911, and I turned around and the whole house was in flames.”
Despite living across the street from the Damascus Volunteer Fire Department, the home couldn’t be saved, she said.
The Damascus volunteer firefighters responded within three minutes, she said. Four other departments responded — Bee Branch, Choctaw, Morganton and Gravesville.
“There was definitely no saving it; it was pretty much just trying to contain the flames and water our neighbors’ properties,” she said.
The Williams’ 1-year-old mastiff, Charlie, initially came out of the home but ran back into the house, she said. He died along with their other dogs, Baby Girl, a 13-year-old Chihuahua; Bones, a 3-year-old Chihuahua; and Razor, a 9-week-old Chiweenie.
“We lost everything — even my car,” she said. “My Chihuahua was 13 years old; she was my oldest baby. It’s definitely the hardest, just not having the dogs anymore.”
Many irreplaceable sentimental items were destroyed in the blaze.
“I lost all my son’s baby stuff. I lost all their baby pictures,” she said. “My husband and I both lost some of our grandparents’ things; they’re both deceased. It’s the sentimental things that can’t be replaced. Besides the dogs, that’s what we miss the most.”
Williams’ parents, Teresa and Michael Lathem of Rabbit Ridge, owned the 86-year-old home. The home was insured; the contents were not.
A benefit lunch for the family by Burnin’ to Please is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Guy-Perkins School cafeteria. The all-you-can-eat-meal will include pulled pork, chicken, beans, rice, a drink and dessert for $10 per person for ages 12 and older and $5 for ages 7-11. Children 6 and younger may eat free.
Paul West of Conway, owner of Burnin’ to Please, said he saw a donation jar at a restaurant and contacted the family to do a fundraiser. His goal is to raise $20,000, and he said there’s no doubt in his mind that the goal will be reached “because everybody’s coming together as a unit. It’s going to be great. This is amazing — you know people out in the country; they’ll come together a lot better than the people in the big cities.”
Williams said the cause of the fire has been classified as “undetermined.” The home did not have central heat and air. “I had an electric heater there, plus we had a wood stove. The wood stove had died down quite a bit. We and some of the firefighters are leaning toward it being the electric heater.”
The Williamses have been staying with her parents, just about five minutes down the road, she said.
“We got there at 4:40 that morning, and that’s where we’ve been ever since,” Williams said.
She said her hope is to use proceeds from the fundraiser for a down payment on a mobile home to put on the property.
The American Red Cross has assisted, she said, as well as the community.
“The community, I mean, it has just been a blessing,” she said. “We’ve had an outpouring of clothes, offerings of furniture and stuff like that,” she said.
Williams said Penny Howard, the counselor at the Guy-Perkins School, called her and asked for a wish list so that classrooms and the school community can help furnish the family’s new home.
“It kind of makes you feel proud that you’re from a small community – even though we live in Damascus and our kids go to Guy; both communities coming together, it’s just been amazing,” Williams said.
A bank account for the Williamses has been set up at First Arkansas Bank and Trust. She said donations may be made at any branch. The account is under Teresa Latham’s name for Michael and Tasha Williams.
For more information about the benefit lunch, call West at (870) 830-3849.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.