Local family hopes to rebuild after house fire

Many of us counted our blessings this Thanksgiving and are already preparing for Christmas, but a Poplarville family of seven won’t be celebrating the holidays at their home after a fire destroyed all of their belongings Thanksgiving night.

Shalyn and Brandon Morris could not believe their eyes when they returned to their Poplarville home late Thanksgiving night. “We were trying to do some Thursday shopping for the five kids that we have, and when we showed up at home at about 11:15, the house was on fire.”

Desperate to try to save the family home, Brandon Morris sprang into action. “With a flashlight and garden hose, trying to save it. It took me over real quick. I didn’t make it in 5, 6 feet, I almost didn’t make it back out.”

Fire officials believe the fire started in the kitchen, due to faulty wiring. One thing is for certain, the family of seven lost everything they own. “Whatever this fire didn’t get, smoke did. It’s just unreal what the smoke will do. I have so many things from the children’s jerseys from baseball, school clothes. We’ve washed them a hundred times now and you just can’t get it out.”

Sifting through the smoke saturated remnants of what little the fire left behind, the Morris family still counts their blessings, especially considering how close their young daughter’s room was to the kitchen. “If it hadn’t been Thanksgiving, everybody would have been here and the fire would have just taken her over.”

For now, the family is living on kindness, staying with a relative and trying to salvage what they can to make this holiday season filled with happy memories for their five children, ages one to 10, and they’re getting plenty of help. Pearl River County has already donated a Christmas tree. “The churches and stuff, they’re coming together. The community, military friends, police friends, just trying to make it good for them.”

A GoFundMe has been set up for the Morris family as they begin the long process of rebuilding. You can visit the GoFundMe page by clicking here.