FLORENCE, Arizona — A 90-year-old veteran still has his faith after he lost everything in a fire near Florence.
“If you are a God versus fearing person such as I am, you want to cry, you want... you want to be very sad,” Jerry Noland said. “But on the other hand, look where God left you, standing, smiling, walking, talking, so that's pretty great.”
Noland said his caretaker had just dropped him off and he had just taken a bite of his sandwich when he started to smell the smoke.
Noland said he looked around but did not see anything at first but then noticed smoke.
“I could see the wind making smoke shadows as heavy smoke went by the window like a shadow,” Noland said.
Noland said he saw two of his neighbors run toward him to render aid and asked if there was anyone else in the house.
"Well, it's hard to imagine you... you look around and your whole house is on fire," Jerry Noland said. “I went back outside, and by the time I got outside, it was burning healthy, fairly big.”
Lisa Somerton, Noland’s caretaker, said the veteran has been staying with her since the fire occurred.
“You don't have time to really analyze what you're thinking,” Noland said. “You're just thinking, well, my house is burning to the ground.”
Somerton said, fortunately, Jerry Noland’s two goats Dorothy and Florence, along with his dog Sissy, survived the fire. Sissy, however, is still missing.
“Right now he's staying with me and my boys, and he keeps saying he doesn't want to be a burden, Somerton said. “I keep telling him, you're not a burden, you're a blessing. You made it out, and I tell him, God's not done with you yet.”
Noland said although he lost everything, he’s grateful to be alive.
Friends of Noland have started a fundraiser to help him in his situation: https://www.givesendgo.com/HelpJerryNoland
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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