October 2005

The following article from the Springfield News/Sun details the fire that struck Pastor Grant & Barb Edwards home on Monday morning, October 24. Gratefully there was no loss of life or injury to members of the family. Their insurance company, restoration firms, and construction personnel have responded promptly and the Edwards are making plans to reconstruct their home and the memories lost in the near destruction of the interior of the home and its contents. As reported in the story below, the congregation of Fellowship Christian Church is ministering the love of Jesus to the Edwards family. Please remember to pray for Pastor Grant and his family as they cope with the magnitude of their loss.

 

Springfield News-Sun Article: “Preacher is a beneficiary of sermon on helping others”

 

Grant Edwards spent recent weeks preaching to his congregation about the importance of helping others. As members flocked to his home, which was charred by a fire early Monday, they proved they were listening.

“I’ve been thinking throughout the day that I need to do whatever I can to be available,” said Sarah Markman, a congregation member at Fellowship Christian Church on Valley Loop Drive . “You never know when you yourself or someone else will have a tragedy and it’s those times that it’s so important to be available as brothers and sisters in Christ.”

Friends and family helped the Edwards’ gather what could be saved from the 1357 Greystone Drive home.

From the street, it looked untouched, but the back and inside were severely damaged — leaving white squares on the black walls where framed pictures used to hang, shattered stained glass windows and melted light fixtures dripping from the ceiling.

Edwards’ son, Matthew, woke about 6 a.m. and saw the fire burning the back of the house and ran to wake his parents.

“We walked into the kitchen, and it was like a hurricane of fire in the back,” Edwards said.

Edwards, his wife, Barbara, and their son heard an explosion as they ran out of the house to call 911.

“The fire department came very quickly, but a second is an hour when you’re watching fire jump 15 feet from your back porch,” Edwards said.

The Springfield City Fire Division received the call at 6:15 a.m. and had the blaze under control around 7:30 a.m. Battalion Chief Kevin Sprinkle said fire damaged about 25 percent of the home — the rest of which was damaged by smoke and water.

Edwards’ daughter, Emily, was house-sitting Sunday night and was not at home when the flames started.

His other daughter, Megan, lives out of state and was on her way to Springfield Monday afternoon.

“It’s devastating. There’s nothing,” said Amber Davis, a congregation member and friend of Emily Edwards.

Davis, who came to support her friend, said she was amazed at how well the family is coping with the destruction.

The Edwards’ built the home eight years ago and know it will take time to reconstruct what they had, Edwards said.

His sister and brother-in-law live next door at 1339 Greystone Drive and will have some unexpected house guests for a while, he said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Springfield City Fire Division.