Home goes up in flames day after Christmas, family asking for community’s help

December 28, 2018 2:42 AM

Jamie Perez,

Posted: December 28, 2018 2:42 AM

Updated: August 31, 2021 12:22 PM

by Jamie Perez

Home goes up in flames day after Christmas, family asking for community’s help

SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. — Johnathan Williams and his family were hanging out at home the day after Christmas when Williams noticed black smoke coming from the back of his residence.

“I was washing my hands in the kitchen sink and I saw it,” Williams said. “I started throwing some water on it but I was unable to do anything.”

Williams was able to get everyone out of the house and one of his five children called 911.

“It happened so fast,” Williams said.

The family lost much of what was inside the home, including all the Christmas presents they had unwrapped the day before. Williams said there was no renter’s insurance on the home.

“No. It was the only thing we didn’t insure,” Williams said.

Williams and his family are staying at his brother-in-law’s home in Marshall for now.

“We were in the house for five years. We built a life there. We built our businesses out of there. I don’t even know how to describe what I feel,” Williams said.

A family’s home went up in flames the day after #Christmas. They lost everything, including presents they had just opened, along with the home offices they ran their businesses out of. Find out how you can help this family get back on their feet, tonight on #News3 @WISCTV_News3 pic.twitter.com/vD64Bthv5K

— Jamie Perez (@JamiePerezTV) December 27, 2018

Williams and his wife, Sara, had at-home offices for their individual businesses. Williams has a snow removal business called Simply Snow Care and Sara has a jewelry business called Sara’s Sassy Swag.

Williams said Sara lost thousands of dollars of inventory, including packages she was ready to ship out to some of her customers.

“I don’t even think I’ve processed it yet. I don’t know how to describe it,” Williams said.

While Williams and his family sort out what to do next for housing, he says he has other financial weight coming from medical issues his daughter, Rylee, is dealing with.

“She got one of my kidneys in 2009,” Williams said. “She’s got diabetes. She’s got a bunch of different issues. We are working with the hospital right now to get everything replaced.”

While fire crews work on figuring out what caused the fire, this family is left figuring out how to rebuild a life and a home in the new year.

If you would like to help the Williams family, their GoFundMe page can be found here.

Get your weather forecast from people who actually live in your community. We update with short, easy-to-use video forecasts you can watch on your phone every day. Download the iOS or Android app here.