Barbara Sumrall, an Atlantic Beach police officer, was weeks from retirement when her home went up in flames.
The source of the fire was incandescent rope outdoor lighting she had set on a timer. Apparently when one bulb goes out, voltage transfers to the remaining bulbs to provide redundancy.
And when there’s only one bulb left (as was the case with Sumrall’s lights), it has all of the line’s voltage and can explode.
Fortunately Barbara and her nephew who lives with her were able to get out alive.
Sadly, one of her dogs got spooked by the ceiling collapse as they were running out of the house and turned around to go hide in her bed.
Both dogs died in the fire and nearly all of Sumrall’s possessions were destroyed.
Because she was living in a doublewide manufactured home more than 10 years old, she couldn’t get insurance.
NEFBA members joined Sumrall’s fellow officers to provide assistance. WastePro donated seven or eight Dumpsters and approximately 30 police officers from the force helped with the clean up.
Paul Davis Restoration was on hand to try and salvage as much as possible.
Thank you to these NEFBA members, standing up for someone who has dedicated her life to making our community a better place. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.
The fire was in March. Builders Care received a call in April from Dustin Bradley, a 26-year-old general contractor and new NEFBA member.
Bradley left a message — one of 82 voice mails Builders Care received that week.
His message mentioned nothing of Barbara Sumrall and it was by chance that his was the first call-back of the week.
Bradley said he was a new general contractor and he didn’t know where he would get the money or resources but he was going to build her a house. He said American Electrical had already agreed to provide its services for free and he might have the plumbing lined up as well.
The story he told was heartbreaking and Builders Care offered to pass on any of our donated materials and invited Bradley to come take a look at what we have available.
Bradley explained he had grown up in Atlantic Beach and at age 12, he decided he wanted to be a police officer. He joined a mentoring program and was paired with Sumrall. She remained his mentor into his 20s.
Bradley told Builders Care what an amazing woman Sumrall is, how many children she has mentored and how much she has done to give back to the community.
Then he said she was weeks from retiring and now she is living in a tiny tow trailer on her property. And to make the story even more tragic, she lost her husband, a veteran, about two years ago.
While the mission of Builders Care is helping provide low-income homeowners with safe environments, many caring NEFBA members wanted to help.
When the Sales & Marketing Council heard about Sumrall’s situation, there was a tremendous response.
Tadlock Roofing offered a free roof, HabiJax Restore offered to provide the trim and Chandler Designs offered to donate furniture to help Sumrall once the house is complete.
Builders Care is coordinating the efforts of NEFBA members to help Bradley build a home. Dustin had an associate set up to complete the engineering, but after a couple months, Builders Care reached out at a new member orientation.
Doug Lucas from Lucas and Scott Engineering stepped up to the plate to provide plans.
Joyce Conway from Permits Made Simple volunteered to handle all permitting and Todd Knowles of Quick Tie Products has offered a free structural tie down system.
There is a GoFundMe account for Sumrall, which has more than $19,000.
Bradley’s dream is to be able to have everything donated so she can use that money to purchase furniture, clothes and everything else lost in the fire.
The way NEFBA members have been stepping up and volunteering their expertise, the dream is sure to become a reality.
For anyone interested in helping build this home, please contact Justin Brown at [email protected].
To make a contribution to Sumrall’s GoFundMe account, visit gofundme.com/BarbSumrall.