Family loses home, pet in fire as train delays response
HOLLOW ROCK, Tenn. — A devastating house fire and extended response time has left one family struggling to pick up the pieces.
One home is destroyed after an early morning fire erupted in Hollow Rock.
On November 17, Adalis Morales and her family were sound asleep when an electrical short in their water heater sparked a fire.
At around 3 in the morning, her son woke up to smoke filling the air and immediately alerted the other six occupants.
“By the time we just got here, the house was gone,” Morales said.
Morales says none of their working smoke alarms went off.
According to reports, there was approximately a 20 minute delay from the local fire department.
“When the fire department got here, it was already burnt,” Morales said. “They took long time to get here. It wasn’t actually their fault, the fire department. The train was coming through, over here it takes a long time.”
A CSX train was blocking a nearby crossing, as firefighters were in route to the home.
“We didn’t have a chance to get nothing, nothing. Everything is in there, all 40 years of work,” Morales said.
The Morales family has been living in the home since the 1980s and everything they have left is in a pile.
Thankfully, everyone got out of the home in time, but the fire unfortunately claimed the life of their pet.
“I went out and then I remembered Princess, my puppy, and so I run in, but the house was already burning up, and then, my son, Darwin pulled me out,” said Morales.
As the family begins to pick up the pieces, they’re left unsure if insurance will cover the losses— all while battling Mr. Morales’ medical issues that make accessing needed medication difficult.
“We have no medications, and he’s diabetic, and he’s waiting for the insurance company to replace it because we just went to the doctor on the seventh of this month, but everything in there is burned–all–everything. There’s nothing in there left, nothing,” Morales said.
The American Red Cross has reached out to provide aid. We have reached out to the Hollow Rock Volunteer Fire Department and are awaiting a response.
The Morales family has set up a GoFundMe. They are in need of clothes, diapers, toiletries, and cleaning supplies as they look for a new home. Click here to view the GoFundMe. The family can also be reached by email at santiagoamanda65@yahoo.com
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