Florence High School Teacher And Wife Lose Everything In Fire

By: Heather Burke |
Published: December 04, 2009

A Florence High School assistant football coach and his wife loose everything they own in a house fire.
The couple lives in the Copper Ridge subdivision in Florence, right behind the high school..
Firefighters say an electrical problem in the master bedroom sparked the blaze Tuesday, destroying the two-year old home.
Fortunately, the couple and their three-year-old son weren't home at the time. Unfortunately, their dog was and died.
"That was our 3-year-old's best friend," said Nikki Gerald.
"We told him that the dog, Santa Clause picked him up and he's helping with him this year," said Sean Gerald. "So he's excited his dog is helping Santa Clause."
They say the fire has burned through their Christmas plans.
"I was completely done Christmas shopping, and they were hidden from our little boy. We've had a lot of them wrapped under the tree, and they're all gone," said Nikki.
Now the couple is trying to pick up the pieces.
"We had to keep telling ourselves this is only material things," said Nikki.
While their home is scorched, a cross hanging on their wall is one of the few things that survived.
"Kinda shows that God's not gonna give you more than you can't handle," said Nikki. "That's mainly what we keep telling ourselves."
Friends and family have set up an account at the Copiah Bank in Florence if you'd like to make donations to help out the Gerald's.