Teacher Greta Smith was in her classroom at Turkey Creek Middle School Tuesday, Sept. 15, when she was told that her Lakeland home was on fire.
Most of Smith’s family members were safely away from the flames engulfing the home. Three of her children were at school, but Smith’s husband, Thomas, was sleeping inside the home as smoke began to infiltrate his lungs. An onlooker saw the fire start in the family’s garage. The unknown witness rushed across the street, jumped a fence and broke open a window to call to anyone who might be in the house. Thomas Smith awoke and was able to get out of the house, only needing treatment for smoke inhalation.
The rest of the home was destroyed, and the cause of the fire remains unknown.
“It got the whole house,” Greta Smith said. “What the fire didn’t reach, smoke did. Even though they say it’s not our fault … I think, ‘Was it something that could have been prevented?’”
After the fire, most of the family’s belongings were unsalvageable. Furniture, photographs and electronics were ruined.
The family managed to save only a few items of clothing. They had to be washed for five hours to be rid of the stench of smoke.
But in the days after the fire, the Plant City community has come together to help with immediate necessities. A GoFundMe account has been set up for the family for their upcoming financial needs.
“It’s been a blessing,” Greta Smith said. “A lot of people have reached out.”
Greta Smith, who teaches AVID at Turkey Creek Middle School, said that her coworkers, students, family, friends and church, St. Mary Missionary Baptist Church in Bealsville, have helped.
The American Red Cross put the family in a hotel for four days after the fire.
Since then, Greta Smith’s sister has loaned her the use of her one-bedroom apartment. Although the family of five is cramped, Greta Smith is grateful that everyone has been able to stay together. Her mother and four sisters live nearby, and all have pitched in to help the family.
Greta Smith jokes that so many people have reached out to help that she has more clothes now than she did before the fire.
“That’s why I can be kind of positive,” Greta Smith said. “I do have such a great support system.”
TCMS has also contributed in its own way. She has taught at TCMS for 15 years and calls the school her Turkey Creek family. Her students wrote her letters of encouragement, and the staff put together boxes of clothing for the longtime educator to take home once she returned to school.
Despite the recent hardship, Greta Smith has tried to maintain normalcy. She only missed three days of school following the fire.
“It felt normal to me … because this is my comfort zone,” she said. “It really has helped me heal.”
Thomas Smith, who works at a medical cleaning facility, returned to work the first weekend after the fire.
The couple’s school-aged children, Bryce, 17, Bianca, 12, and Brennan, 7, followed in the footsteps of their parents. They only missed one day of school.
“They’ve been going every day since,” Greta Smith said. “I think it was important for them, though, to keep going to school. As long as we stay strong, they just kind of go with the flow.”
The Smith family was renting the Lakeland home, but didn’t have renters’ insurance. They must pay out of pocket when they begin the arduous process of replacing their belongings.
“That’s why it’s been important that people have reached out and helped us,” Greta Smith said.
The Smiths are looking for a home in Lakeland that is close to their children’s schools. As they begin to rebuild their life, they are realizing just how much they’ve accumulated over the last 18 years.
“We’ll need furniture eventually,” Greta Smith said. “Beds, mattresses, appliances … those things we take for granted.”
Greta Smith said that she would not have been able to bounce back so quickly without the immense help she and her family have received from the Plant City community.
“My students have been wonderful,” Greta Smith said. “I definitely could not have done it without friends, family, my Turkey Creek family and church family.”
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.