Local Charity Gives to Family Left Homeless by Christmas Day Fire

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – For one Macon family, a happy holiday turned into a nightmare on Christmas Day.

An early morning blaze destroyed their entire home in the west part of the city, and officials believe arson played a role, but the gift of giving is helping them see a little light at the end of the tunnel.

Brittany Hadley was at her mother’s house on Christmas morning when she got a terrifying phone call.

“I got a call at about 4 o’clock in the morning and they said that my house was on fire,” says Hadley.  “I kind of thought it was a joke, but I didn’t think it was a joke.  I’d been kind of uneasy feeling all day–I was kind of sick all day–so I kind of felt like something bad was going to happen.”

No one was home at the time of the fire, but Hadley’s house was a total loss.

Now, the 25-year-old and her five godchildren are without a place to stay, and all of the kids toys that were in the house have been destroyed.

So Kids Yule Love showed up in style on Wednesday with a surprise.

“I actually saw the aftermatch of the fire when I reported on duty yesterday for Christmas,” says Chris Allen, Houston Co. Director of Kids Yule Love and a firefighter.  “Just seeing the destruction and the children lost everything–the house was complete destruction, and so we got together and we stepped in and made sure the kids had numerous amounts of toys for Christmas.”

“We brought tricycles, we brought bicycles, we brought in the little bitty plastic bicycles,” says Jeremy Allen, Bibb Co. Director of Kids Yule Love.  “We also brought in Barbie Dolls, remote control cars–a little bit of everything.”

Hadley says losing everything is like a bad dream, but something like Tuesday’s fire puts everything into perspective.

“I’m blessed to be alive and thank God for my family and friends and everyone that’s helping me get through this,” says Hadley.

Macon-Bibb Fire Investigator, Sgt. Ben Gleaton, told us today there appeared to be forced entry into the back of the home and that this fire didn’t look like an accident.

If you have any information about the blaze, call Crimestoppers at 1-877-68CRIME or the Arson Hotline at 1-800-282-5804.