AL Firefighter Loses Everything in Blaze

July 30 -- Alabaster firefighters are rallying around one of their own after he and his family lost all of their belongings to the very thing he spends his days fighting.

In June, Billy Gibbs' Montevallo home flooded. While they were waiting for repairs to get underway, they were staying at his wife's parents' lake house.

On Sunday, fire ripped through the house, destroying everything they had brought with them including their truck and car, which were parked outside. Gibbs, his wife Cindy who is a nurse and their three sons were able to escape unharmed.

In a Facebook post early Monday, Gibbs described the events of the day as "one of the best worst days of our lives."

He explained that following the June flood, the family moved everything that was important to them to the lake house. On Sunday, the family went out about 5 a.m. to fish. After returning home to eat breakfast, they showed and napped so they could go back out fishing later.

About 30 minutes after they awoke from their naps, Gibbs and his wife were watching television when his wife noticed smoke. "We jumped up ran to the door and I could see an orange glow that I have seen many times. Before I could stop her, she grabbed the door knob and it was too hot to touch,'' he wrote. "I sprinted out the back door to see what we were looking at. The entire front of the house was engulfed in flames. I ran back in grabbed the kids and Cindy and we got out just as the smoke was banking down in the kitchen."

"Praise God everyone got out unharmed. While we just lost almost everything we have, I'm so grateful that this fire didn't start while we were napping or in the middle of the night. My wife and children are still here and healthy,'' Gibbs wrote. "There are a million different ways this could have happened and by God's grace everything happened in a way that allowed us all to get out. Cindy noticed the fire. My boys did exactly as they have been taught and got down and got out."

"So while this was about as bad a day as I can imagine, it's also a wonderful day cause after the smoke cleared I got to hug my boys and hold my bride,'' he wrote. "Take fire safety seriously. Teach your family what to do. Keep your smoke detectors in working order. Most of all leave it all and get out. This could have been a much different day."

A GoFundMe has been established to help the family. Donations can be made here. In addition to the online fundraising campaign, donations can be made at any Alabaster Fire station.

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