"Soon as I opened the door, I got singed,” says Tim Marr. “The smoke hit, and I unloaded the fire extinguisher, and it did nothing. I think at that point, the helpless feeling set in of, this is it. We have to go. And whatever happens, happens. We just have to get out.”
It was in those immediate moments, that saved the lives of the Marr Family.
Tim, an army veteran and former Ranger, was inside with his wife, Tracey, when their garage raged with flames and filled with thick black smoke.
"I was upstairs grading papers in my craft room,” she says. “I just heard the panic in his voice.”
Tracey continues, “By the time I got to the third step, I couldn’t see the living room. There was so much smoke.”
Their daughter, Lilly, thankfully was at her grandparents’ home. But their pets were still inside.
"We just stood right on the other side of the driveway watching our cars melt into the driveway,” Tracey remembers. “Boom after boom. We heard glass shattering, we heard propane tanks going, off our tires blowing.”
Fire crews arrived in minutes, saving the animals and soon-to-be presents days before Christmas.
Tracey says the firefighters, “Covered them in a tarp. They literally just had sprinkled water damage on the paper. They did an amazing job. They saved our dog. They found her they gave her oxygen. ‘Chandler’ the tortoise was good. He's safe.”
The Marr’s credit their neighbors for supporting them through their loss.
“We just have to remember that it’s just things. But it’s still hard,” Tracey tears up.
In the meantime, they’re staying with Tracey’s parents. No word yet on what caused the fire. But this family, sharing their story so others can be better prepared.
“I’m the daughter of a firefighter and I’m very diligent of checking batteries, checking smoke detectors, no candles in the house,” Tracey says. “It can happen to anybody. And you have to have a plan.”
If you feel called to support the Marr Family, a neighbor has organized a GoFundMe to help get the family back on their feet.
