GREEN, Ohio — A man in Green is dealing with the loss of his home after a devastating fire destroyed it Wednesday while he and his son were away on vacation.
The flames that ripped through Matt Jones' home along Main Street collapsed the roof and destroyed nearly everything— including furniture, clothing and a grill.
Jones was on vacation in Hilton Head with his 12-year-old son when his roommate, Kayla Gearhart, called and told him the house was on fire. Gearhart and her 6-year-old daughter were able to escape the fire.
"I was in Hilton Head with my family and my son and my mom, dad, sisters, cousins and I got the call yesterday at 5 o'clock, and I packed up and came home and found this," Jones said.
Gearhart went back inside the burning home and suffered minor burns to her face and neck while she rescued two dogs. One of the dogs belongs to Jones. A cat is still missing.
"She actually ran into the house and got burned getting my dog," Jones said while fighting back tears.
Jones nearly lost all of his belongings in the fire, but told News 5 that some things were still salvaged, including his tie collection, his flashlights, as well as a cabinet that belonged to his grandfather.
A sentimental collection of rocks that Jones and his son had gathered from places they visited together was burned. However, Jones is grateful that he can still make out some of the words written on the rocks like "1st canoe trip."
"Everywhere me and my son go, we collect rocks. We paint them and then Mod Podge them. They were all across our mantel," Jones said.
Kayleigh Richards of Perry Township is the mother of the 12-year-old boy who lost his home to the fire.
"I sat here and cried a lot last night. It's hard to accept that they're coming home to no home," Richards said as she wiped away tears.
Richards started a GoFundMe to help "rebuild lives" and said community members, including her son's baseball team, are looking for ways to help.
"It's amazing that everybody— people I don't even know— like are reaching out and trying to help out and doing everything they possibly can in the last 24 hours," Jones said.
Green Firefighters are still investigating, and so far, they have not yet determined the cause of the fire. In the meantime, Jones is trying to figure out what is next.
"I don't know. I don't know," he said.
