TAMPA, Fla. — For Phyllis Jennett and her adult son, Joe Newbrey, it was a helpless feeling to watch the house they called their home for 50 years practically burn to the ground.
“You know, I just can’t sort of believe that I won’t be waking up in my own bed again — that it’s done,” Jennett said.
Wednesday afternoon, it took just minutes for their home on Wallace Circle — which is located in a neighborhood south of Gandy Blvd. — to become unlivable. According to the mother and son, a fire started in their utility room and spread to the rest of the house.
“I was just on the computer, and my next-door neighbor, Doreen, was banging on the door. She said, ‘There’s a fire. Come on,’” Jennett said.
Newbrey was watching TV in his bedroom.
“She came in and flung open the door and said, ‘There’s a fire,’” he remembered.
“By the time I got out of his room and looked in mine, it was all smoky, and you could hardly see — suddenly, very suddenly,” Jennett added.
“I thought she was going to get killed,” her son said. “Man, it was such a weird day.”
Luckily, they got out unharmed along with their beloved dog, but there was too little time to save anything else. In the chaos, the only thing Jennett thought to grab was two DVDs that needed to be returned to the local library.
The inferno melted the screen off their brand-new TV, turned their kitchen into ashes, and incinerated both their cars.
“All we could do is stand there and watch,” Newbrey said.
It was a helpless feeling indeed, especially for Jennett, who’s now starting over as an 86-year-old. Though they have a temporary place to stay, they’re now searching for a motel as they figure out what’s next.
“I told somebody, it’s kind of overwhelming,” she said. “It is.”
But that’s not to say they’re completely without help.
Using Facebook and word-of-mouth, neighbors banded together to help with donated supplies and money. One neighbor who’s leading the charge dropped off a truckload of supplies Friday afternoon.
“It feels good,” Newbrey said. It’s just wonderful.”
Though they lived in the home for 50 years, they’re now learning who their neighbors truly are.
“What a nice neighborhood,” Jennett said. “It has been really wonderful. I didn’t realize that people would notice that much. And they did.”
And neighbors say they’ll continue to help the family with even more donations. They have also started a GoFundMe page for the family.
As for the fire, Tampa Fire Rescue has said it was not deemed suspicious, and the exact cause is still being investigated.
