Donations pour in after Waxhaw family's home burns down on Thanksgiving Day

WAXHAW, N.C. — Buck Smith came home to find his neighbor's Waxhaw home going up in flames on Thanksgiving Day. He immediately began thinking the worst.

"Seeing what we saw pulling up, you have no idea. Your brain just goes into a blank," he said. "We were just running around kicking windows out, calling names and making sure nobody else was inside."

There were no other people inside.

It took firefighters from five departments to battle the flames shooting through the roof of the home.

They did what they could, but it was too far gone.

The fired burned the home down to its frame and although the Smiths’ plan to rebuild their home, they lost clothes, half their family pictures and a beloved family pet.

"Sweetheart, she was the greatest dog," he said. "We tried. We got her out. We tried CPR, oxygen but nothing. She was in there too long."

The fire marshal said the home lost power as the family was cooking and investigators believe the stove was left on and may have started the fire when the power came back.

Family members said they didn't leave the stove on but either way, no one was home to do anything about it.

Some friends are now pulling together the little they can with a GoFundme page, which has raised a few thousand dollars but firefighters say the home is a $70,000 loss.

"We have the tools and men to rebuild. We just need a little help with getting the material here,” Smith said.

The family is in need of clothing. Their sizes are as follows:

Mother: Size 16 pants,  XL shirt, size 9 shoes

Father: Size 36/30 pants, XL shirt, size 9 shoes

Son: Size 32/32 pants, XL shirt, size 12 shoes

Buck Smith and his son both need winter clothing because they work outdoors.

Items can be dropped off at Sweet Repeats consignment shop in downtown Waxhaw on Saturday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.

Cox Media Group