A South Jersey family is picking up the pieces after a fire destroyed their home just days before Christmas.
Salomon Andre, who works as a Camden County police officer, and his wife, Dajshia Gibson, bought their home in Clementon, New Jersey, over the summer. They moved in just days before their son, Kailo, was born.
“It was perfect for us. Something for us to grow into,” Gibson said.
On the afternoon of December 16, while Andre was on patrol for work and while Gibson was at the grocery store with their four-month-old, they got a call that changed their lives.
“The neighbor called on the Ring camera and said, ‘Your house is on fire.’ And I’m just like, ‘No way,”‘ Gibson recalled. “But then I saw the fire department and them kicking in the door on the Ring camera.”
When crews got inside the home, they found the family’s dog, Dash, inside his crate on the second floor. They were able to rescue him, but the damage left behind was extensive.
“It started in the master bedroom, so the whole upstairs is gone,” Andre said. “It hit me, like, ‘Yeah, you’re going to need a new home or it’s going to take a while to get back in this place.'”