Family rebuilds after losing home and possessions

After the first night in their Coal City, Ind., home, the Eggers family awoke to find themselves in a living nightmare.

Parents Natasha, 29, Brandon, 26, and their children, Ciara Prince, 15, and Corbin Prince, 10, left their previous apartment in Martinsville, Ind., and signed their new house’s contract Feb. 27. They moved into their house the next day.

“We thought we were doing the right thing, working to buy our first own house,”
Brandon said.

Natasha and Brandon went to bed at about 4 a.m. March 1 after what they said had been a long day of unpacking.

Natasha said she smelled something burning, but neither she nor her husband could find a source for the scent.

After a few hours of sleep, Corbin saw smoke and flames and ran into his parents’ bedroom to wake them up.

“If it wasn’t for him, we’d all be dead,” Natasha said.

An electrical fire from a wire behind a wall connecting the living room, dining room and kitchen that had been smoldering for hours had burned through and begun to devour the four-bedroom house.

Natasha said she immediately dialed 911 while Brandon attempted to put out the fire on his own.

“I just grabbed the kids, a picture of the family and ran to the neighbors,” Natasha said.

The cost of damages are still unknown because the Eggers were not the official owners; they were renting to own the house. Natasha said what was not completely destroyed by the fire has smoke or water damage.

Among other issues, floorboards have buckled, the ceiling has holes in it from efforts to put out the fire, and all their major appliances are unusable.

To add to their financial problems, on Tuesday the fuel pump of their 2003 Grand Am broke while they were on the way to pick up Corbin from school. 

The repairs cost $315, and the car is the family’s only source of transportation. 

“It was lucky that it broke right in front of a mechanic’s house,” Natasha said.

Because both Natasha and Brandon are currently unemployed, they do not have the funds to quickly fix the house or pay for their hotel room.

Natasha said she had planned to look for jobs later in the week once they were settled in, but since the fire she hasn’t had the time to try. Before becoming a homemaker she was a certified nurse’s assistant, and she said she’d like to get back to that work if possible.

The local Red Cross paid for the family to stay in a two-bed room at the Patriot Inn in nearby Spencer, Ind., for several nights, Natasha said.

“We actually just had someone donate enough money to pay for another few nights today,” Natasha said.

However, without that funding, the family’s other option is to live in an unheated RV donated by a local preacher. It is parked next to their charred home.

As of now, they have nowhere to wash their clothes.

Despite their struggles, the Eggers said they plan to move back into the house when it
is fixed.

“We want to stay,” Natasha said. “It was a life lesson, and we’re not going to run from it.”

Since the fire, the electrical wires throughout the house have been redone by a professional electrician, which cost the family an additional $1,800.

Brandon said he is willing to do any sort of labor to earn money for repairs and bills. He said he has experience with masonry and electrical work, though he is willing to mow lawns or do any other work needed.

They set up donation cans at several gas stations in the area, including the Clay City County Junction, Marathon gas stations and the Spencer Circle K. Natasha said they received a $25 check in one of the cans.

But they have to take the cans down soon. They were only allowed to keep them there for a few days.

A Bloomington bank, The Peoples State Bank, is also helping the family raise funds. Brandon said Red Cross volunteers urged him to open a local bank account where people could donate funds for his family. These donations can be made online or at any of the bank’s five locations in Bloomington.

“We’re used to helping other people, not people helping us. It’s just been a big slap in the face,” Natasha said.