‘We just had to get out’: Prince George County family speaks after fire destroys their home

PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- A family of three says they are grateful to be alive and well after a fire tore through their home on Thursday afternoon.

According to Prince George County Fire and EMS, a report of a structure fire came in just before 2 p.m. on April 24.

Upon arrival, firefighters found the home filled with heavy fire and immediately began attacking the fire. The blaze was marked under control at 3:56 p.m.

Thankfully, the three living at the home, including their two dogs, were not injured.

"We just had to get out ... I knew I couldn't stop it," said Kelly Tumlin. "We just had to get out."

Tumlin and her daughter Colleen were home at the time of the blaze -- her husband Willis Tumlin was at work.

"I work from home on Thursdays, and I was in a meeting. The meeting finished, and I thought our goats got into the garage and I heard a noise," Tumlin said.

When Tumlin opened the door, she saw a fire inside the bottom of the fridge and tried to put it out, but the flames began to spread. She said she quickly called 911 and called her daughter Colleen, who was in the basement, so they both could rush out.

"The windows started to break and a bunch of loud popping, then the truck caught on fire and then the whole house was on fire," said Colleen Tumlin.

Fire officials called all resources available across the county, along with units from surrounding areas, to assist.

"It required fire departments from both sides of the county to include fire departments from Fort Gregg Adams," Willis Tumlin said. "It was so intense that they were having to go send trucks down to the pond just down the road to retrieve the additional water to continue to fight the blaze."

Along with their home, the Tumlin's vehicles were also impacted, but even then, they could not help but remain positive, expressing gratitude for their neighbors.

"We have really good neighbors. We always have," Kelly Tumlin said. "One friend has the little bit of clothes that we have left, our other friend has most of our stuff, another friend has our dogs."

Willis Tumlin rushed to the house once he had heard what occurred. Though he arrived to find his home of a decade nearly destroyed, he said the sight of his family brought a feeling of peace after thinking of what could have been.

"Starting over from where we are with who's here is much better than what it could have been," he said.

Should anyone wish to assist the Tumlin family, a GoFundMe has been created by Kelly Tumlin and can be accessed here.