Fire rips Vina family's home

By Staff
Rebecca James, Franklin County Times
VINA – Rex Edwards couldn't believe his eyes when he came home last Wednesday.
His family's home, which they had lived in for the past 47 years, lay in ashes on the ground.
"I couldn't believe what I was seeing," Edwards said. "Everything was gone, 47 years of stuff, and all of it was gone."
The home caught fire when lightening ran in on the gas line at the family's home, which caused an explosion.
Luckily, no one was in the home at the time of the fire.
"Mom was at work, and I had convinced my dad to come with me to Florence," said Edwards' son Randy. "My mom calls me her hero, because if I wouldn't have talked him into going with me to Florence, she wouldn't have a husband."
Rex Edwards said that he and Randy learned of the fire from his youngest daughter, Rhonda, who was at her home just down the road from her parents.
"Rhonda was on the phone with her husband when it happened," Randy said. "She said it sounded like a bomb going off."
"She ran down to my parents house, and when she saw the flames, she called the fire department, and then she called us to let us know what had happened."
It took Vina Volunteer fire fighters two and a half hours to put out the flames, and another hour to put out the flames after a second explosion.
"The fire was so hot the firefighters had to park the fire truck across the street from the house to put out the flames," said Randy. "My parents lost everything they had in a matter of a few hours."
Despite the tragedy, the family seems to be keeping a positive attitude.
"God doesn't give us anymore than what we can handle." Rex said. "I still have my life and my family, and that's all that matters to me. The material possessions can be replaced, my life and my family cannot."