Christmas Tradition Ruined By Greeley House Fire
GREELEY, Colo. (CBS4) - A couple in Greeley has lost their home in a fire just two days before Christmas, leaving their children, grand children and great grandchildren wondering what's to become of their family Christmas tradition.
This fire was hard to miss for those nearby.
"It was hot. Boy, you could feel it clear across the street," witness Jerry Forte said.
"Neighbors reported what we call a 'flashover' where contents of the room actually ignited and blew out the front picture windows of the house," Dale Lyman with the Union Colony Fire Department said.
The couple that owns the house was home when the fire started. They have five grand children and five great grandchildren who quickly arrived to comfort them and one another.
"They've been married over 50 years. I think the hardest part is all the memories," grandson Daniel Shaffer said.
There's not much, if anything, left where the fire burned.
As investigators work to figure out what started the family members say the gentleman who lives there was working on a tiling project on some stairs when he heard a loud pop come from the basement. He shouted to his wife they needed to get out.
"Fortunately the occupants were able to get out on their own very quickly," Lyman said.
Family members who live nearby say it's tradition to spend Christmas morning at the home.
"My granny's an amazing cook and she would make crepes and we would all come over in our pajamas on Christmas morning, and that's what we always did," Shaffer said.
Now they'll gather somewhere else, thankfully, still together.
