MICANOPY, FL – Tragedy struck for a Marion County woman yesterday morning just before 2 a.m.. Sheila Krebs, 59, was asleep in her farmhouse when she woke up to heavy smoke.
“I was sleeping at 1:56 this morning and my nose was cinching and I woke up and the whole room was in flames and smoke…”, Krebs told reporters.
Krebs purchased the small home in 1987 and has lived there ever since. The house, a 100-year-old wooden home made mostly of what is referred to as “Lighter Pine” burned quickly. When she woke up, she opened the door to the bathroom and noticed that the whole side of the house was already up in flames. Krebs then ran outside and dialed 911. Firefighters arrived at her home at approximately 2:17 a.m. and had the fire under control within 30 minutes.
After calling emergency services, Krebs realized her new puppy, Bella, was nowhere to be seen. She then ran back to the house twice to search for her dog but had no luck. Later Firefighters reported they found the remains of her dog under her bed.
While Krebs was able to salvage little from the ashes, among some of the things lost were photos of her family, including her great-great grandfather who served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.
I’ve lost photographs and a lot of things that I can’t replace, I was lucky to get out alive.
Unfortunately, Krebs did not have property insurance at the time of the fire and since the incident has been left homeless sleeping on couches of relatives.
Krebs, who has been an in-home caretaker for 25 years and a youth soccer coach in Marion and Alachua Counties has been known to give to the community at any chance she could. Now her friends and family are asking for your help to get her back on her feet. A crowdfunding page was created to help raise money to help Krebs rebuild on her land. Please take a moment to donate and help Krebs and her family by visiting their GoFundMe page.
The Marion County Fire Rescue posted photos to their Facebook Fan Page about the incident:
**Residential Structure Fire in Micanopy, Florida**July 20, 2015: At 1:57 a.m., Public Safety Communication received…
Posted by Marion County Fire Rescue on Monday, July 20, 2015
If you would like to help the family in any way or would like more information on what the family may need, please contact us or email nicholasreaganjames@yahoo.com.