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Grayson family homeless after fire Christmas Eve
A massive fire at a home in Grayson Tuesday afternoon leaves several residents displaced.
GRAYSON, Ga. - A massive fire at a home in Grayson on Christmas Eve left six adults and one child displaced.
Gwinnett County fire crews were called to the home on Swan Ridge Circle around noon. They say one home was fully engulfed, and the flames had spread to two other homes next door.
A woman who lived in the home that saw the most damage says the fire destroyed pretty much everything she owned, but her holiday spirit is still intact.
"I’m just grateful," Grayson resident Anissa Dallas said Tuesday.
For Dallas, the fire that ravaged her home on Christmas Eve is now an ever-present reminder that life itself is the real gift.
"This is one of the best Christmases because we got out that house," she told FOX 5.
The woman, who is a diabetic amputee on dialysis, says she and her family narrowly escaped with their lives Tuesday afternoon.
Dallas says she was preparing Christmas dinner for her son and boyfriend when she heard a knocking sound.
"We were getting started. I had my little Christmas music playing. I said, ‘Do you hear that?’" she recalled. "When he opened up my back door, he said, ‘It’s a fire! It’s a fire!’"
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6 adults, 1 child displaced after house fire
Six adults and one child were displaced after a massive house fire in Gwinnett County. The flames quickly spread to two other homes on Swan Ridge Circle, severely damaging one of them. Thankfully, no one was injured.
Within seconds, that fire spread from the side of her home to the roof. Dallas says her son sprang into action to get her out while her boyfriend courageously ran back inside to get her wheelchair.
"If he was not here, I don’t think me and my son … I don’t think we would have made it," she said.
Gwinnett County fire officials say an aggressive response helped get the fire under control within the hour.
Dallas tells FOX 5 everything from her medications to clothes to Christmas gifts were reduced to ashes.
"Only thing that’s hurting me is I couldn’t get my mother and my brother’s ashes," she said.
But she says she is still thankful this Christmas that no lives were lost.
Fire officials don’t know what caused the fire. The American Red Cross is assisting residents and Dallas’s family has started an online fundraiser. You can find more information about that on our website.
The Source: This is an original report by FOX 5 Atlanta reporter Joi Dukes. She spoke to neighbors who live on Swan Ridge Circle and witnessed the fire.