Franklin County rallies behind family whose house burnt down during Hurricane Helene

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Fla. ( WMBB ) – The Franklin County community is coming together to support an Apalachicola family that lost their mobile home in a fire during Hurricane Helene.

Jackie Smith and her three children evacuated Apalachicola ahead of Hurricane Helene. While they were 4 hours away in Pensacola the night of the storm, Smith received a notification on her phone from her home cameras.

“The cameras notified us of smoke in the house. When I zoomed in to the live feed, that’s when the smoke detectors were going off. That’s when we saw the fire,” Apalachicola resident Jackie Smith said.

Franklin County Sheriff A.J. Smith said the fire sparked from an electrical malfunction. The home is a complete loss.

“That’s their home, their room, their toys, their clothes. Now it’s all gone. We’re hoping that we can raise some money to help them get a new home,” Sheriff Smith said.

Smith and her children are currently jumping from one temporary living arrangement to the next.

“We are currently staying in a family member’s Airbnb until first thing in the morning. Then we have the church parsonage. My granny’s church in Apalachicola is going to let us stay there. It’s a three bedroom, two bath. Then we also have somewhere on Bay City Road here in town and another rental we can stay in,” Smith said.

She says she’s waiting to hear back from her insurance provider to find out how much coverage they’ll receive. All Smith wants is a permanent place to call home.

“Our main thing is getting back into our home, back on our property. So everybody can be under one roof again,” Smith said.

If you’d like to donate to help Jackie Smith and her family, click here.

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