Family ‘lost everything’ in rural barn fire in Monroe County, officials say

A family’s barn home was destroyed, and some pets died in a fire Sunday afternoon in Monroe County, according to Monroe County Emergency Medical Services.

The family “lost everything physical,” the agency said on Facebook.

A structure fire ignited then burned an attached barn around 4:30 p.m. on Elbert Jackson Road, a rural wooded area north of Juliette, emergency services said.

Monroe County Fire Department firefighters saw “a collapsed roof and heavy fire coming out of the front residential openings” when they arrived, the Facebook post said.

There was “limited water supply” because the nearest fire hydrant was 2 miles away, emergency services said.

Emergency vehicles shuttled 23,000 gallons of water with industrial water pumps “to complete the overhaul,” the agency said. On-duty and six volunteer firefighters assisted with three water tankers from Jones County.

Jamie and Mallorie Higgins, their 12-year-old son, 4-year-old daughter and her pony were at the home when the fire happened and evacuated safely, according to emergency services.

The son’s turtles and fish died, emergency services said.

The family was living with loved ones while they plan to rebuild their home, according to the Facebook post. The family was seeking financial support from the public.

“As their space will be extremely limited, if you would like to help them, they are requesting gift cards be dropped off at MCES Station 1 at 693 Juliette Road, Forsyth so they can get what they need as they need it,” emergency services said on Facebook.

The fire was still under investigation Monday.