The Coffey family has had to move from their home on Dale Hollow Drive after Friday's fire. They are, front from left, Christopher, Lillie (holding Malaka), Keiarie and Mikaleb Coffey. Back row, Robert, Whitney and Tammy Coffey.
University of Kentucky nurse Tammy Coffey and her family are safe and feeling lucky after being forced out of their home by fire.
Eight of the 10 members of her family were home at 125 Dale Hollow Drive, in Georgetown's Peninsula Subdivision, when the fire started at around 2 a.m.
Friday.
She and her husband, Mike, a painter for QVI in Nicholasville, were sleeping when Coffey heard the fire alarm go off.
"I woke up and smelled something burning and heard the smoke detector beeping, so I woke my husband up," she said.
While the two of them were trying to figure out where the blaze was located, their 16-year-old son yelled, "fire," grabbed hold of the other kids upstairs and headed out the door.
"He was very instrumental in helping everyone else escape the fire and get outside," she said.
Two young girls remained in the basement, where the fire started.
"My husband went downstairs, saw the flames coming from the dryer, called 911 and got the girls out of the house," she said.
If it wasn't for him telling the fire department about the dryer, they wouldn't have known to come to the basement," she said.
Some kids might have tried to save their favorite toys and not get out as soon as possible, but not Tammy's kids.
"They've always practiced fire drills. They didn't grab any toys and went outside the way we told them to," she said. "Most other times, they wouldn't have listened to me, but this time, I'm glad they did.
The Coffeys' 17-year-old daughter and 22-month-old granddaughter were not at the house when the fire occurred.
The Coffeys are staying at the Comfort Suites Inn for now and will be staying at a house on Willow Lane for at least six months.
"We plan to move back to the house, but for now, we're going to rent out a three-bedroom house for six months or on a month-to-month lease, if needed," she said.
Many people are helping the family in getting them back to normalcy.
"I want to thank God that we made it out alive," Coffey said. "We want to thank the firemen, because they were great in comforting the kids.
They even saved a video game and brought it out for the kids to play with."
Georgetown Middle School, Garth Elementary School and First Baptist Church of Georgetown are among the groups helping the family cope with the disaster.
A fund has been set up at Fifth Third Bank for monetary donations.
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