HEBRON, Ky. -- Viki and Mick Reddy's family fled their burning Westview Drive home early Monday morning without shoes or socks on their feet.
The fire was burning too fast for them to retrieve any of their belongings, and when the Hebron Fire Department put it out, there was nothing left but ash and the wooden skeleton of the house.
They had lost everything.
"Oh my gosh, it was tears for them because we are so close," said Amanda Bain, the Reddys’ neice. "Our family is just so close. When they hurt, we hurt."
Bain and her cousin Jodi Stewart spent the night buying their aunt and uncle blankets, socks and other essentials. Stewart said she was grateful that neither Mick nor Viki was hurt by the fire, but realizing the extent of the destruction was still devastating.
"You feel speechless, almost," she said.
The Reddys were preparing to send their two youngest daughters off to college soon, according to Stewart, and settle into lives as empty nesters and proprietors of the Alreddy Cafe in Sharonville. Instead, they will spend the foreseeable future searching for a new home.
The internet has stepped up to help. A GoFundMe campaign called ‘Rebuild with the Reddys’ raised more than $7,000 the day of the fire, and contributions were still coming in. Stewart said few people could deserve that help more than her aunt and uncle.
"They have a servant's heart," she said. "They are so involved in their church; they do a lot for the community."
And, Bain said, more than anything, they are grateful to be alive.
Firefighters are still investigating the cause of the fire, and the family is staying in a hotel until they find temporary housing.
