On December 29 at about midnight, William Rochester and his daughter Emily’s home at 36 Slippery Rock Court in Sharpsburg burst into flames, taking with it their worldly possessions, but not their faith or their family.
According to William and Emily their survival and that of Emily’s little four-year-old daughter Karsyn is a miracle. While many are calling Emily a hero for waking up her family and getting them and their dogs out of the house, Emily insists “It’s all God. It’s not me, it’s him. He’s paving the way. It’s been hard, but I know he’ll get us through it.”
What has changed for William and Emily? “Just the outlook of how blessed we are and how humbling it is because we could have very easily lost our lives that night,” said Emily. “And God’s got a bigger purpose for us. We’re here for a reason. And he’s definitely shown that to me at least. And just the outpouring of love from everyone.”
Their home and almost all their belongings are a loss. “If the fire didn’t get it, the water got in and ruined it. They dumped a ton of water on.” said William. Emily was grateful to find one load of laundry in the washer that made it, protected by the water and metals sides of the washing machine. In it she managed to salvage some underclothes. Her makeup, also, had soot all over it, but was not damaged in the fire.
On his way out of the home, William managed to get Emily’s purse and his own keys—so they had access to their vehicles. They also both had their cell phones.
William, Emily and Karsyn have been staying with Emily’s mom Becky Rochester in Newnan. It’s been tight quarters, with all four of them, their four dogs, cat and Becky’s two cats, too. Emily and William are ready to let Becky have her home back, and so they’ve found a fully furnished rental home that is approximately two minutes from their original Sharpsburg house.
Since the fire, donations have poured out in support of the family, so much so that Emily stayed home from work to sort everything, and to manage all the details like finding their rental home. They got so many donations of clothing and toys that they’ve had to ask the community to stop the flow, not because they don’t need things, but because they are out of space to store it all.
“It’s overwhelming how much we have gotten, and we’re just so thankful because if people didn’t donate and help us, I don’t know how we would’ve done it,” said Emily.
Becky mentioned their church, even Karsyn’s t-ball team sending in some of their Christmas presents. Four-year-old Karsyn even said because Santa came twice to her, “I was a good girl this year.” When Karsyn delightedly opened a bag full of princess dresses that were donated she asked, “Are these for me?”
Although children are resilient it’s not all easy for Karsyn either. Emily shared, “I want her to work through it. And she talks a lot about it at school. She’s been telling everybody that her house burned down, but I think she’s excited about all the new toys and new clothes and all that. But certain things will get to her. We were at Walmart the other day and there was a shirt there that she had before, and she just started crying. She’s like, mommy, I don’t have that anymore. So just little things I think kind of trigger.” Emily would have gotten her the shirt, but they didn’t have Karsyn’s size.
Dealing with the loss is difficult for Emily, too. There are a few things that are particularly sad for her, her missing cat Lacie, losing her Gram’s bibles, and a height chart that had measured Karsyn since she could stand. “My Gram, my grandmother, she was my best friend, and her bibles were completely gone. And then our family Bible has been passed down and it’s gone, and stuff like that you can’t replace. So that’s been the hardest thing for me.”
The loss of Lacie their cat, not seen since the fire, is still really hard. “She was my first baby,” said Emily, who has had Lacie for over eight years.
But Emily is extremely grateful that the firefighter was able to rescue a singed, sooty cat, Bentley, out of the wreckage of their home toward the end of the fire, found in a laundry room. “I was hysterical. I was, when I saw him and heard him, I just started bawling my eyes out, just knowing he was okay. And he’s good as gold now.”
William, nodding at Emily and Karsyn, said, “I got out with everything I need.”
William went to work all this last week at his job a Kroger maintenance facility, where he’s worked for the last 20 years. The family is truly looking for a sense of normalcy, and they want to rebuild at their home site—they’ve already met with a possible builder who thinks that with the heat and damage, he’ll have to start with a new foundation.
The Coweta County Fire Marshal deferred to the insurance investigator for the actual cause of the fire, which was determined to be heat lamps. William and Emily had placed a heat lamp at each of their outdoor doghouses to keep their two outside dogs warm in the winter. Those were close to the house, and that’s where the fire originated, quickly spreading all across the attic and home. The house was deemed a total loss by insurance.
If there are people in the community who want to help the Rochester-Phillips family to rebuild their lives after the fire, the following GoFundMe link is the best way, at present.
Updated: 1/7/25 to include the cause of the fire.
