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SAFETY HARBOR — They lost two Christmas trees, a kitchen full of Christmas goodies and a family room filled with a collection of decorations.
They lost Christmas gifts they had just received Tuesday from the Safety Harbor Neighborhood Family Center.
But the Bower family, including parents Nicole and Michael and their six children, lost even more in a fire that started in the garage of their rented home at 214 Hancock Court Thursday night. They also lost all their family heirlooms, their clothes and two family pets — chinchillas named Lilly and Luna.
At around 9:30 p.m. Thursday, while the children and two out-of-town guests visiting the family played the card game UNO on the porch, Nicole and Michael were talking in their bedroom.
"All of a sudden we saw black smoke coming out of the vent,'' said Nicole, 41, who is a bartender/server at the Whistle Stop Café. "We ran through the house and checked on the kids, and then we headed for the garage.''
When the couple opened the door leading to the garage, they tried the light switch, but the light wouldn't come on. "And then we saw all this black smoke that billowed out,'' she said.
Nicole and Michael, 48, yelled for everyone to run out the back door, as they went back through the house to the front door. Just as everyone came together in the yard, "all these flames burst up from the garage,'' Nicole said.
"The garage had gasoline in it for our lawn mower and Weedeater," she said. "My son's car seemed to blow up, and we watched the garage door melt like butter.''
Seven fire units from Safety Harbor and Clearwater responded to the 9:35 p.m. call. The fire was under control in 20 minutes, according to Safety Harbor Fire Marshal Richard Brock.
Three of the Bowers' six children — they range from age 12 to 25 — were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation but were able to spend the rest of the night at Nicole's sister's home. Michael, who drives a taxi for United Cab, was sent to the hospital for observation after inhaling smoke. He was released Friday morning.
"Nothing this devastating has happened to us in the 25 years we've been together,'' said Nicole. "The fact is we now have nothing. We didn't even have shoes on when we got to the yard, so when my sister came for the kids, she brought flip-flops from a 24-hour Walmart nearby.''
The American Red Cross is working with the family, said Janet McGuire, a spokesperson for the organization.
Along with providing everyone with clothing and money for food, "all 10 people have been put in a hotel room for five days,'' McGuire said. "Typically we provide three nights in a hotel, but it's Christmas and that makes it hard to find hotels. We wanted to make sure they had a place to stay for the extended holiday.''
Nicole is thankful for the "amazing Red Cross workers and what they do,'' but she believes there are others also looking out for her family.
"We've got an angel," she said. "The last thing we should have done when we got to the garage was open that door. We could have been killed right then by a backdraft. The only reason we weren't, I believe, is because there is an angel watching over us.''
Piper Castillo can be reached at pcastillo@tampabay.com or (727) 445-4163.
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