Disabled Veteran’s home catches fire(Photo: Matt Head)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A terminally ill veteran currently under hospice care is dealt another hefty blow. A fire sparked in his home leaving behind heavy smoke damage. He was taken to UF Health but when he’s released from the hospital, he has no idea where he will go.
At 9:30 p.m. Monday, Sandra Tackle’s nap was interrupted by a strong odor that’s still lurking in her small home on Appleton Avenue. Soot and ashes now cover their kitchen walls, floors and the ceiling.
terminally ill veteran currently under hospice care is dealt another hefty blow.
“The smoke barreled under the door that’s what woke me up, that and the alarm went off,” said Tackle. “I jumped up I opened the door the flames were shooting out of the kitchen down the hallway.”
Tackle lives in a rental home with her son, and his father, Williams Bradner Sr., a former Navy man who is now terminally ill under hospice care, suffering from a number of ailments including COPD.
As fire ripped through their kitchen towards her bedroom Tackle says she quickly sprang into action.
“I grabbed him by his shoulders and I dragged him down to the living room,” said Tackle. “And I got him out on the porch and I started screaming to the neighbors to call 911.”
“I heard somebody screaming,” said William Bradner Jr. “It sounded like my mom.”
Back from a quick trip to the store, Bradner Jr, says he couldn’t believe his eyes or ears.
“She said the house is on fire and I can’t find my animals,” said Bradner Jr. “I got on my knees and I crawled to the back. I found my small puppy Stewy and I got him out.”
Their four animals all made it out safely. And their home is far from being a total loss. But for a man battling a serious lung disease it is uninhabitable.
“It’s like we’re at ground zero,” said Tackle. “And, I don’t know what we’re going to do.”
The family has received help from the Red Cross but their three night hotel stay ends Thursday morning. With limited income and no renters insurance they’re not sure what to do next. Bradner Sr. is still at UF Health and his family says he’s doing better. They’re not sure when he will be released. JFRD was unable to provide an exact cause of the fire as of news time but the family believes it was caused by a pot left unattended on the stove.
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