SPRINGVILLE, Utah (ABC 4 News) – A house fire left a Springville family without a home, took the life of a grandfather and their tragedy does not end there.
On Saturday night, Tara Mann’s world was turned upside down. She explained, “The whole house is a total loss and everything in it.”
A fire started in the basement of her home. It was late on December 6; at first, she and her husband smelled smoke, but quickly they saw smoke and flames.
Mann said, “By the time we got downstairs to the hallway the smoke was so thick we couldn’t see anything. We ran into Dad’s room and the flames were so high and next to his bed, my husband ran through the flames to get him off of his bed.”
Mann saved her children upstairs and her husband got his father outside.
They watched as their home was destroyed.
The tragedy does not end there.
Mann said, “He passed, early Wednesday morning. He just couldn’t recover. He had health complications, but the smoke inhalation – he couldn’t recover from that .”
Mann’s father-in-law was supposed to celebrate his 68th birthday and Christmas with his family this month, but instead, his family will now plan his funeral.
Mann’s world was violated even further when someone ransacked what was left of their home. The intruder used a ladder to get inside the burned-out home and took anything of value that remained.
This included Mann’s original wedding rings.
Mann said, “It’s just devastating. It’s devastating someone would do that on top of everything we have already been through.”
The Mann family is so grateful for the outpouring of support from their community, friends, and family – but they are starting over. You can help them through a GoFundMe account set up on their behalf.
