Displaced but not discouraged

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Fact Box

If You Can Help:

Families: The Ferrill family and the Heller family

Situation: Both families' homes were destroyed by fire and they now live outdoors in tents.

Donations: Both families are accepting clothing donations. The Ferrills also are accepting child car seat donations.

All donations can be dropped off behind Rhonda's Restaurant, located just off the Arch Rock Road exit of U.S. 322 East.

To contact the Ferrill family, call Melissa Ferrill at 773-0179 or Todd Ferrill at 773-0374.

Ferrill Family clothing sizes

Melissa - pants 12-16, shirts XL

Todd - pants 36-32, shirts XL

Ashley, 18 years old - pants, 9-11 (junior), shirts M-L

Amanda, 16 years old - pants 10-11 (junior), shirts M-L

Greg, 15 years old - pants 32-30, shirts M-L

Katelyn, 12 years old - pants 9-10 (junior), shirts M

Todd "Bub", 11 years old - pants 14, shirts M-L

Jayden, 4 years old - pants 4-5 (toddler), shirts 6-7 (toddler)

Preston and Braxton, 9 months old - size 9-12 months

Heller Family clothing sizes

Jennifer - pants 11-12 (junior), shirts M

Jasmine, 12 years old - pants 13-14 (junior), shirts L

Hunter, 7 years old - pants 10, shirts M

MIFFLINTOWN - Surrounded by the remaining memorabilia of their life, the Ferrill family sits around a table at the fishing access behind Rhonda's Restaurant near Mifflintown.

The table is full of notebooks, pens and candles. There also is a jar of peanut butter and a loaf of sliced bread. Surrounding the table are a tiny village of tents - almost one for each of the family's 10 members.

Among the tents is a blue tarp hanging from a tree, which the family uses as a shower area. Inside the shower is a tiny cooler that is used as a toilet. Their clothes are kept in trash bags that get damp from morning dew on the grass.

Behind the table is a tattered chair from their home, its backrest almost completely burned away.

Ashley Ferrill, 18, strategically balanced her 9-month-old twins, Braxton and Preston, on her lap as she describes her family's living situation.

Although seemingly unreal, this scene comes from the all-to-true story of two local families that lost their homes in a fire and have been compelled to live outdoors with the bugs, the rain and the summer heat.

Todd and Melissa Ferrill, of Mifflintown, had just purchased new carpet for their living room, a new washer and dryer, new car seats for their grandchildren, and had even owned a new laptop and TV when a fire consumed their home at Rich Horning Trailer Park between 3:30 and 4 p.m. on June 11, they said. The family smelled smoke and heard a popping sound, and just minutes later the front side of the trailer was engulfed in flames, the Ferrills said.

A family member called 911, but when help arrived, the fire already had spread to the trailer next door, and the Ferrills' neighbors - Jennifer Heller and her children, Jasmine and Hunter - also lost their home, they said.

Adding to the devastation, the Ferrills' three pets - dogs Josie and Reggie, and a bird, Popeye - perished in the blaze.

"We lost everything we owned," Todd Ferrill said.

The Susquehanna Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross provided the family with food, comfort kits which include toiletries, clothing, shelter, and teddy bears for the kids. The agency also offered general support, Public Relations Officer Kathy Smyser said.

Through the Red Cross, the family was put into a motel for about a week, the Ferrills said.

After leaving the motel, the Ferrills searched for a new place to live, but were turned down because of the family's size and its number of young children, they said. Melissa Ferrill also said they do not have any family in the local area offering assistance.

With nowhere else to go, the Ferrills, along with the Hellers, moved what few belongings they had left and set up tents at the fishing access behind the restaurant, just off the Arch Rock Road exit of U.S. 322. They continue to look for a new place to call home as well as support from local churches and community organizations.

Right now, their main focus is getting their lives back together and finding a new place to live, Melissa Ferrill said.

"(We're) trying to keep some normalcy for the kids," she said. "We're a strong family. We'll survive."

In an effort to provide further relief to the families, the Red Cross will send a local disaster specialist to meet with them within the next few days, who will assist them to get in touch with local organizations that can help, Smyser said.

Typical procedure for the Red Cross is to support a disaster family with shelter, money and other necessities for about a week, then the family is left on their own to gain control of their recovery, Smyser explained.

"Typically, everyone's (able to get) back on track," she said.

If a family still has problems getting back on their feet, they can call a local disaster specialist who will help them contact local places and people for assistance, such as furniture stores and landlords, Smyser said.

Both families are accepting clothing donations, and the Ferrills also are accepting child car seat donations. All donations can be dropped off behind Rhonda's Restaurant, located just off the Arch Rock Road exit of U.S. 322 East. To contact the Ferrill family, call Melissa Ferrill at 773-0179 or Todd Ferrill at 773-0374.