ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — An assistant professor at The University of South Florida and his wife lost their home after a fire destroyed it last month.
The tragedy struck weeks before the couple was expecting their first child.
The fire started on August 27 around 11:00 a.m. at their home in St. Petersburg.
Tony Pham said he removed clothes from the dryer and was inside the home.
"I was getting my clothes out of the dryer then I went to my room, started folding them. The next thing I know, I smelled something, I thought it was my clothes, but then the smell just kept getting stronger and stronger. I went outside and some people were telling me there's a fire," said Pham.
Pham said his wife, Jenny, was not home at the time. His 86-year-old grandmother was home with him and was able to get out safely with help from others.
"By that time, It was too late to go back in to get any other important things because we already saw smoke coming out of the house so I just had to let firefighters take it from there," said Pham.
Pham and his wife had a room ready for the baby and had already purchased furniture, bottles, clothes and so many other baby items.
The fire destroyed all of their belongings.
St. Pete Fire Rescue believes the fire started because of an electrical issue with the dryer. The dryer was outside the home and quickly caught the house on fire.
"We lost it all like we had to start over, get those things back. We had to rebuild a new life, find a new house. It was really concerning and scary. Thankfully, no one got hurt," said Pham.
Pham also lost electronics he uses to teach, including an Apple iPad and Apple Pencil. The couple also lost clothes and appliances.
They're grateful for the overwhelming support from the community.
Pham said friends, family, colleagues and strangers have been very kind.
"I'm really grateful for the community just learning my story and helping out so there's a lot of generous people out there so really thankful for that," he said.
The family's pastor started a GoFundMe page to help with expenses and another friend started an Amazon Baby Registry.
"I'm grateful for every contribution that has been made for me and my family and our newborn son."
Investigative Reporter Katie LaGrone obtained the most recent batch of Florida teacher exit interviews which detail, in their own words, why teachers left the classroom this summer.
