The Grenada Fire Department responded to two house fires over the Christmas weekend, leaving one family of 10 homeless.
With temperatures at 8 degrees and the wind chill of -5 degrees, GFD was dispatched to a house fire on East Margin Street at 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 23. According to GFD officials, upon arriving on scene, the home of Delorise Cole had heavy smoke and flames blowing through the roof and one gable end of the house.
“It’s a thought I just cannot get out of my head,” Cole said last week. “When I went back in to get my children from the back of the house, once I got to about the middle part of my home, the ceiling started to fall in and had the fire department not acted as quickly as they did, there is no telling how many of my babies I would have lost.”
Two fire hoses were pulled to begin suppression efforts and an additional 2.5-inch hose was used, as was the Deck Gun on Engine 1, to fight the fire. Off duty firefighters were called in to assist at the scene. Shortly after, firefighters had to exit the home as the roof was beginning to fall in and it was no longer safe to be inside the home.
“The fire department worked so hard in making sure that I got all of my children safely in my arms,” Cole said. “My children were so worried about our pets, and once it was safe for the crew to go back in, they made sure my babies had our two dogs and rabbit out safely.”
Once the fire was under control and it was safe to re-enter the building, firefighters set up salvage tarps and recovered Christmas presents, clothes, shoes and electronics trying to preserve any property as best as could be done.
“We lost everything,” Cole said. “Allison Moore with Hope for Life Christian Women’s Job Corps has been a true godsend. With me not being from here, she still has gone above and beyond for us, making sure we are getting things that we need. She is reaching out to all of her contacts to help us find a new place to live and to make sure we have clothes on our backs and food to eat.”
Catiecha Alexander-Eskridge has sons that play basketball with a couple of Cole’s children at Grenada Middle School and it was heavy on her heart to help the family.
“I have children that play basketball with some of her boys and there have been times when I would give them a ride home,” Eskridge said. “The night of the fire, my husband and I thought we left the heater on at his shop, so as we were going to check on that, we saw the smoke and fire trucks everywhere and I knew their house was over in that area, so the next day, I rode by to see what house it was and it was the Cole house. I immediately reached out to the GMS basketball coach to see what we could do to help. He really got to work for this family.”
Grenada Middle School basketball coach Nathan Newell and his wife, Savannah, are also new to Grenada and were back home in Tupelo visiting family for Christmas when the fire occurred. While Coach Newell was away, he reached out to the Tupelo community asking for help.
“Not only did he collect $400, but he and his wife collected a whole truck bed full of things for this family,” Eskridge said. “This is a tragedy in itself, but right here at Christmas is just awful. I am so thankful God was able to help us provide what we did for them. I thank God no one was harmed that night. If you see it in your heart to help, please do because this could be any of us at any given moment.”
Crews worked to try to extinguish hot spots in the collapsed building, fighting frozen ladders, gear and a fire. The last crew cleared the scene at 3:07 a.m. on Christmas Eve and had to return to the scene at 4:30 a.m. to fight rekindled fire. The crew remained on scene until 10:30 a.m.
After fighting the structure fire for close to 12 hours, the home is considered a total loss.
The Cole family is now looking for a place to live, along with household items and clothes, as they completely start over. Cole, a single mother with nine children, has taken a leave of absence from her job at Modine to try and get things taken care of.
“My children are in Memphis, Tenn., with my mother, and I am in a hotel here trying to get things back going for us as a family,” Cole concluded. “I am so thankful for everyone who has already reached out to help us. I have a child in every school in the Grenada School District and this school has really made sure that my babies and I are getting the help that we need. I have a child in Head Start, the lower and upper elementary schools, the middle school and high school. I know for a fact that my children are loved by each of their teachers. Me not being from here and just moved here four years ago, I still feel like I have been here forever. This community has treated us like we have lived here our whole lives. We are at home here and I appreciate what the community is doing for our family. This is what makes Grenada the place we are happy to call home.”
The Grenada Star has opened up its doors to receive donations for the Cole family. Donations will be accepted during regular operating business hours from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Sizes for the Cole family include, mom, size 11 bottoms, size medium top and size 8 shoes; male (4) size 4T, female (6) size 6x, male (7) size 6x, male (8) size 8, male (9) size 10, male (11) size 10-12, male (12) size 32 men, male (13) size 14-16 and male (18) size 32 men. Shoe sizes include; boy 8y, girl 11y, boy 13y, boy 2, boy 3 ½, boy 4, boy 7 ½, boy 7 ½ and boy 9 ½.
The family has rented a storage unit for any large household donations and can meet donors there to receive donations. To contact Cole, she can be reached at (662) 688-3655. For those in the community that want to make a monetary donation, Cole’s Cash App is $DeloriseCole9
The Grenada Fire Department was also dispatched at 12:05 p.m. on Dec. 23 to the 60 block of North Main Street. Upon arrival, crews found the building fully involved.
According to officials, two fire hoses were immediately deployed for a defensive attack and to protect nearby structures. This structure was not occupied and reported as dilapidated.
The scene was under control at 12:27. One firefighter suffered minor burns and went to the University of Mississippi Medical Center for treatment. The GFD cleared the scene at 1:27 p.m.
Both fires remain under investigation.
