Santa Rosa officer who lost his home works tirelessly to help other fire victims
SANTA ROSA, Calif. (KTVU) - On Monday, eight days after the fires in the North Bay broke out, Jessica Farrington wrote, "I haven't seen my husband in over a week.... I miss him. But he fights on to protect!"
Her husband, Sgt. Justin Farrington, is with the Santa Rosa Police Department.
The Glen Ellen home that the Farringtons and their three children lived in has been burned to the ground.
After the fire swept through their neighborhood, Sgt. Farrington returned to where his home once stood and posted an update with a photo of his property marked by a flag standing at half staff.
"Our home is gone! We still have our family intact! The flag was untouched! We will prevail," he wrote in a message posted on a GoFundMe page set up to help the family in the long recovery ahead.
He sent his wife photos of the rubble of what was once their home, and she was hit by the reality of all that was lost.
In a moving message posted on GoFundMe, she wrote, "I have stared at the photos no less than 50 times since first seeing them today. Unrecognizable at first sight."
She went on to say, "All that we have built together. Our memories. The sounds of laugher. The gallop of my horses. The boys learning how to ride their dirt bike... All the milestones and memories, In ashes. All just memories that can only be shared by stories from here on."
That Sunday night on Oct. 8 when Jessica received word that she and her family needed to leave their home immediately and run from the flames, her husband was at work.
"The night of the fire was a normal work night for him. It was just a normal night... but then suddenly everything changed," Jessica wrote.
She narrowly escaped the flames with her three children: a 3-year-old daughter and two boys, ages 12 and 14.
She also had to evacuate the family's animals, including horses that she had to load into a trailer.
"I repeat the events of that night over and over in my head constantly everyday. From the phone call I made to my husband asking where the fire was," she wrote.
Jessica said that it feels like time has stood still for her since that moment life as she knew it changed.
"The fires that have devastated my sweet town, swallowed my home, and over 5,000 others... Our lives turned upside down," Jessica wrote.
Aimee Crutcher, who's organizing the GoFundMe campaign, told KTVU that the Farringtons are holding up the best they can and are just so grateful to have their family safe and intact.
And the family has expressed deep appreciation born from the outpouring of support and help that have come in from so many people.
In a post, Sgt. Farrington wrote, "Words cannot express my gratitude and thankfulness... I'm crying like a baby as I type this but want you to know how greatly appreciative the Farrington family is for the support."
The Farringtons have found shelter for themselves and their animals through friends and relatives.
For Sgt. Farrington, there has been little time for rest in the midst of what his wife described as a "terrible nightmare."
She wrote of how he returns home every morning to her parents' house in Petaluma where he's been staying, covered in soot.
Some days he doesn't even shower so he can get one more hour of sleep.
"He has worked 12 hour shifts since that night, evacuating people with only moments to spare. 'Get out now,' he would have to repeat those words thousands of times so that they could save their families too!" Jessica wrote.
Jessica called her husband her hero and protector, who along with the other dedicated first responders on the fire lines, have been working tirelessly since the flames broke out.
"He wears a badge among many other brother and sisters in blue. So many who share the same story as him. So many with families just like mine. Just like yours. But.... through it all, they still protect!"