Family of 8 loses home, companion dog in Pender Co. fire

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Crews responded to a house fire in Pender County this afternoon.

The Pender County Sheriff’s Office said the call came in around 3 p.m. in the 800 block of Giddeons Pond Road. When crews arrived, the house was fully engulfed in flames.

The neighbors told WWAY the parents and six children were not home when it happened. They said two dogs and a cat are still missing. They have a wood fire heater.

The mother, Andrea Carr, said they came home from lunch to find their house on fire. She said she tried to go inside to save the dogs, but it was too hot.

“Couldn’t get my dogs out,” Carr said. “I tried, I burnt my leg trying to kick the door down to get them out but I just couldn’t get them out.”

She said one of the dogs was a companion dog for her quadriplegic son.

“A Great Dane that was given to Jones just recently as a companion dog,” Carr said.

Firefighters are still at the scene. There is no word on the cause at this time.

Pender County Fire Marshall Tommy Batson says all eight of them, parents and six children, are okay.

While they may have lost their animals, the family said they will get through this through their faith.

“You know even with all the loss, I still have the most important things in my life,” Carr said. “That’s God, my family, my children, my husband, my family and I’m really thankful for that.”

Carr said that she knows that with god’s help, something good will come out of this.

The community is already trying to help the family. A GoFundMe has been set up. More than $10,000 has already been raised in just a couple of hours. Click here to see how you can help.