The Bazinets say just about everyone they’ve come in contact with over the past few days has offered to help.
OAKLEAF PLANTATION, Fla. — Imagine losing everything in a matter of minutes – your memories, your belongings, your sense of safety.
That’s the reality for one Oakleaf family after a devastating fire ripped through their home Friday.
Clay County Fire Rescue is still working to figure out how the fire started.
The Bazinets are grateful they made it out without any injuries, especially when you look back at what the home looks like now.
The other thing they’re grateful for is the community coming together to support them.
“We heard a pop, and the next thing we know was the house was on fire,” said Jamie Bazinet.
Jamie and David Bazinet were home Friday while a crew worked to install a new roof.
They ran outside when they heard the pop, not knowing they wouldn’t be able to step back into the home where they raised their son.
“I don’t know who the firefighter is, but I’m determined to find out. He approached me and asked if I was alright,” recounted Jamie Bazinet. “I mentioned that my diamond ring was in the house, as we had just marked our 25th wedding anniversary.”
Bazinet says the firefighter went back into the flames and came out five minutes later with the ring.
“Everything that she needed, he had everything for her,” said David Bazinet.
The Bazinets can’t believe some of the other things that managed to survive the fire.
“We found our wedding album,” said Jamie Bazinet. “My mother made a decoupage painting of an angel praying, and it was completely untouched.”
David is a state trooper who says he’s heard from FHP leaders across the state asking if they need anything.
Jamie, who teaches in Clay County, noted how supportive everyone from her son’s football coach to the principal and guidance counselors has been, each offering assistance.
“She said, ‘I understand you might need to set up your classroom and prepare things, school starts tomorrow,'” Jamie Bazinet shared about a conversation with a guidance counselor at her son’s school. “‘There are about four or five of us ready to go to your school and arrange your room for you.’
The Bazinets have family in the area they’re staying with and the Red Cross helped with some of the immediate needs.
A neighbor set up a GoFundMe that’s already raised more than $3,000.
Receiving immense support from nearly everyone they encounter has allowed the Bazinets to focus on their son, who lost the only home he’s known.
“Starting your senior year like this is devastating, but we’re doing everything possible to make it what it would’ve been if our house hadn’t burned down,” expressed Jamie Bazinet.
Bazinet says she’s heard from several neighbors already who are afraid they’ll move out now.
She mentioned they aim to rebuild on the same site and were discussing possibilities with their insurance company before taking a moment to speak with First Coast News.
