Neighbors rally to help single mom of 5 displaced by Pierce County house fire
When Orting resident Jaime Jones went on a camping trip to Idaho on July 5, she had no idea the tragedy that was about to happen.
“I was with my three boys and one of their girlfriends in the mountains in Idaho and we were at the beach and we were having a great time,” Jones said. “And my phone exploded with all of these text messages. No one was really specific — all my neighbors, people I know up the hill, it’s a small community — texting me: ‘Are you OK? Call me immediately.’”
It was then that Jones learned that her 6-bedroom, 3-bath house was on fire. Central Pierce Fire and Rescue confirmed to The News Tribune that the fire started on the first story of the house. Crews first responded to the fire at 1:46 p.m. that day and were on scene until 7 p.m.
The entire house has smoke and water damage and is not livable. No one was home when the fire happened.
“I drove an hour back to Star, Idaho, to my sister and brother’s house, called insurance right away, got a claim number right away — I couldn’t do anything else,” Jones said. “I was able to get there the next day on Sunday. [It was an] eight-hour drive, it was pretty scary to have it happen when I wasn’t in town and I didn’t see it.”
Jones is a special education teacher and single mother of five children, ages 12 to 22. Four of the five still lived at home, and Jones is also the caregiver of her adult cousin with Down’s Syndrome. Jones’s parents have a house on the property, bringing the total number of occupants to eight people.
“We’re all a little bit displaced — I have my kids staying with friends and family and I’m trying to find a place to live and do all the things to get the house fixed,” Jones said. “So, it’s going to be a long haul.”
When The News Tribune asked Jones what started the fire, she said they don’t know for sure because they were waiting for Central Pierce Fire and Rescue to finish their report. They do know that something in the garage started it.
“It was not anything negligent. He ruled out anything that was plugged in and shouldn’t have been,” Jones said.
The News Tribune reached out to CPFR to ask about the cause of the fire. They directed a reporter to the Pierce County Fire Prevention Bureau, who did not respond by deadline.
Residents rallied around Jones and her family after the fire, setting up a GoFundMe to raise money. As of Tuesday night, the GoFundMe had raised $14,558 of its $16,000 goal.
The priority, Jones said, is keeping her children’s lives as normal as possible.
“One of my sons had to go to work on Tuesday, we had to make sure he had overalls so he could go to work because his whole room is gone. I’m taking my other son to get sports stuff because he has sports camp,” Jones said. “We’re not canceling anything, we’re going to make it happen, we’re just going to do it.”
Jones said she is grateful for the sense of community and the people who have been there for her. Right now, she is trying to find a rental house to stay in.
“I don’t expect anything before January to change, but I just want to have my kids back together and have a family meal and sit down together,” Jones said.
