Family Home and Pets Burn in Houston County

A family in Elko, Georgia woke up to their home on fire early Sunday morning. Jay Fordham had just moved into the double-wide modular home with his wife Beth, daughter and mother-in-law a few weeks ago.

Beth initially thought it was storm outside, but she quickly found out there was a fire inside her home which destroyed everything, but the clothes on her back. Fortunately, the family was able to escape the flames, but their pets weren’t so lucky.

Beth says, “We had 9 dogs and 5 cats and a little snake. They’re all rescue pets.” The dogs were buried on Tuesday. In addition, the family also has two rescue pigs. The Fordham’s recently built a pen in their backyard for the piglets, but now the animals need a home too.

Neighbor Lorra Baccili woke up to the fire and called 9-1-1. She says, “The entire house was already engulfed. There was nothing you could do. You could hear the animals, you could see what was going on, but there was nothing we could do.”

Houston County Fire Department is still investigating what caused the blaze. Chief Jimmy Williams stated the fire started in the back room, near the porch. 

Donations for the Fordham family can be mailed to: 

State Bank and Trust Company

1208 Washington Street 

 Perry, GA 31069 

 Fund: Sharon Darsey/Mr. and Mrs. Jay Fordham