LEBANON, Tenn. (WKRN) — Often during times of tragedy, it’s the community that shows up to lend a hand. That's what one Lebanon family said is keeping them afloat after a house fire destroyed everything and killed their family dog.
“Just so many memories here...my son's first steps,” Cassie Laidlaw said.
Laidlaw met News 2 at her home in Lebanon. Her two children still have yet to see the house. “I just see moments and memories and all the family dinners we had around the table,” Laidlaw said.
It was on Monday, Laidlaw told News 2 her husband was home at the time when an electrical fire started on the lower deck. She said he didn’t notice until a neighbor came running out.
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‘Once it caught on the roof. Everything just went so fast.”
Laidlaw said it took hours for the fire to be fully out and the heat did not help. She said thankfully her family is all safe, but their family dog didn’t make it out.
“Before I could even get here to the fire, my church had showed up, my community had showed up,” Laidlaw said.
Laidlaw is still processing the tragedy, coming to terms with that everything is now gone. “At the end, it's just stuff. My family is ok, and we are going to rebuild, and we are going to be ok. But it is a process."
She said rebuilding is important to her family but there's just one barrier. "We’ve got to rebuild, unfortunately, what we had it insured for and how much it is going to cost to rebuild there is a huge gap,” Laidlaw said.
However, she said she doesn’t see her family living anywhere else than in Wilson County where her community continues to show up in times of need.
“In Wilson County, it's a family and that's what makes it so special to be a part of this community. We just look forward to the day we get to come back and just say, ‘Welcome home,’” Laidlaw said.
A GoFundMe for the Laidlaw family can be found here.