Daily Voice
By Zak Failla From Daily Voice
It took just minutes for a normal Saturday afternoon to turn into the kind of nightmare a young Maryland family never imagined.
Chris and Ciara Gregory were home with their two little girls, Noa and Gracie, on Nov. 29 when a fire tore through their attached garage and spread fast, destroying nearly everything they own and leaving the family suddenly displaced, according to Chris’s sister, Amy Gregory.
Fire crews were called just after 1 p.m. to the 1400 block of Woodridge Lane in Carroll County.
Sykesville Freedom District Fire Department said crews arrived to find “a two-story single-family home with fire showing from the garage.” Engine units worked to get water on the flames while tower crews went inside to search the home and hit pockets of fire.
A water main break forced tankers to be brought in to keep the operation going.
Gamber & Community Fire Company said the garage was “fully involved when the first units arrived,” with a car inside and another on the driveway. Both were destroyed. The fire breached the walls and pushed into the home, developing into a working garage fire “with possible extension into the dwelling.”
Crews from Carroll County, Baltimore County, and Howard County all responded.
The Maryland fire.
The department said the fire was declared under control before 3 p.m., but by then the damage was overwhelming.
According to Amy Gregory, the fire “quickly spread and destroyed nearly everything they own.” She said the family is thankful Chris, Ciara, Noa, and Gracie are physically safe, but the state of their home is catastrophic. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
The garage — where the fire started — was gutted. The foundation and roof collapsed. Both of their vehicles burned. A riding lawnmower, tools, car seats, and other belongings were reduced to debris.
The Maryland fire.
Inside the home, the fire broke through walls and heavily damaged rooms on the main floor. A guest room, closet, and bathroom were lost, along with “a baby dresser, bassinet, special rocking chair, adult bed, and a significant amount of baby gear,” Gregory wrote on GoFundMe.
The Maryland fire.
The flames also tore through the wall leading to the basement stairs. The family lost couches, TVs, children’s toys, and “irreplaceable sentimental items like photo albums and family heirlooms,” she wrote. “Truly, they lost anything you can imagine.”
What wasn’t burned was destroyed by smoke or soaked by thousands of gallons of hose water. Their hardwood flooring and staircase were saturated. Clothing, shoes, documents, electronics — all ruined.
Gregory said her brother’s family has now been told they won’t be able to move back in for at least a year. The entire structure of half of the home will need to be rebuilt from the studs out.
And while insurance is handling the structural loss, she said the family has immediate needs that can’t wait: diapers, formula, new car seats, infant and toddler essentials, clothing, and transportation.
Their two vehicles were both wiped out in the fire. They’re now without a car to move their children, get to work, or simply function day-to-day.
Gregory said the family also needs safe, stable temporary housing while repairs and reconstruction move forward.
A GoFundMe created by Gregory lays out what comes next: urgent supplies, replacement vehicles, temporary housing, and the daunting task of rebuilding a life around two little girls who just lost every sense of normalcy they knew.
The Gregorys are asking for privacy as they focus on finding stability for Noa and Gracie. Gregory said all communication and coordination should go through her so the young parents can “focus entirely on rebuilding their lives and keeping a sense of ‘normalcy’” for the children.
The GoFundMe can be found here.
And in the middle of everything they lost, Gregory said there is one thing they are holding onto with both hands: “Family always comes first.”
