Nurse Trying To Protect Family From Coronavirus Loses Home In Fire

A Seminole County nurse tried to shield herself and her family from coronavirus (COVID-19) with a camping trip, but ended up losing her home and everything in it. Still, she’s thankful.

“This is the satellite dish.” Amy Eberle said pointing to the charred remains “That’s what they think the lightning struck.”

A strike of lightning, and just like that everything Eberle owned was gone. 

“It is just devastating. It’s just devastating. I still can’t wrap my mind around it. I feel like I’m in shock. Like it’s not real. It’s just completely devastating,” she said.

Clothes. Furniture. Pictures. Everything reduced to ash. All that’s left are memories.

“This dresser here my son had his TV and his playstation and him and his brother would sit on the end of his bed right here. So, the head of his bed went like this and they’d sit on the end of his bed and play video games together.” Eberle said.

Eberle and her kids got the call that their home was destroyed just as they were leaving the campgrounds and rushed back

“It was still burning. That was at 8 o’clock in the morning that the roof collapsed and we got here at 4 p.m. and you could still see the flames just lapping up there.”

Eberle’s husband was home when the house went up, but managed to get out. If she and the kids were home, this story might have had a much more tragic ending.

“That’s what matters. It’s not all this. This is just stuff. It can all be replaced.” Eberle said. “It’s just sad because this is their home. This is my kids’ house. They don’t know anything else. This is where we lived.”