CORDRY-SWEETWATER — Jimmy Green has been running into homes on fire since 1978, as a volunteer firefighter.

Last month, Green was on the other side of that scene. His family lost their home in Cordry-Sweetwater to a fire.

“I have a different outlook on things now. It is totally different. We go in and fight the fire then take care of that way, but I’ve never known this part of it,” he said.

His community, though, has his back.

[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]

Last week, the Cordry-Sweetwater Anglers Club hosted a benefit fishing tournament for Green that raised $4,000.

The Cordry-Sweetwater Volunteer Fire Department, of which Green is a member, also has been collecting donations for the family, and more are being accepted.

The weekend of June 20, Green and his family were allowed to go back into what was left of their home to collect anything salvageable. They were not alone then, either. About 12 people from the Fraternal Order of Police in Columbus, law enforcement officers from Brown and Bartholomew counties, and fellow volunteer firefighters showed up with pickup trucks and trailers to help Green load his belongings and take them to a storage unit.

“I was shocked. The brotherhood — with law enforcement, we take care of one another. We don’t lie for one another, though, like the news media on TV has made it out to be. We take care of on another when someone is in need,” Green said.

“If someone is down, they are going to step in and help.”

The family managed to grab some sentimental belongings, like photos, boxes of records from Green’s late mother and NASCAR memorabilia from his late father-in-law. They’re going through those to see what can be saved.

“It’s unbelievable the care that community has,” Green said.

“This was a Saturday. All of those guys could have been doing things with their loved ones. Instead, they were helping us. It’s great. I can’t describe it.”

Green has been working in law enforcement for 40 years. He is currently the chief deputy at the Cordry-Sweetwater Conservancy District.

He retired as a Bartholomew County deputy, after 28 years of service, in 2015. He was sworn in as a reserve deputy in Brown County the same year and had worked his way up to serve as the senior lakes officer when Vernon “Bernie” McGaha retired last year.

Green also serves as a volunteer firefighter with Cordry-Sweetwater Volunteer Fire Department. That department was the first one on the scene when the call came about Green’s home on May 30.

Green was also on duty, working on programming radar to track boat speeds, when his phone rang. It was the alarm company reporting fire alarms going off at home.

Green’s family was home at the time. While he was on the phone with the alarm company, Green received a call from his wife, telling him that the home they had been working to remodel was on fire.

“There were four of our members right near station when the call came out, so we responded pretty rapidly with both engines and the ambulance,” Cordry-Sweetwater Volunteer Fire Department Chief Mike Leavitt said.

Everyone was able to escape, but the home was a loss. The cause was determined to be electrical, starting from an exterior outlet before moving quickly on the cedar siding and into the home.

Firefighters didn’t know until they got there that they were responding to a fellow volunteer’s house.

“We occasionally run these things, where you respond to a fire alarm like this or a medical run, on a member’s family member, which always adds a little additional emotional stress to it, but just like anything else, you get there and you go to work,” Leavitt said.

Firefighters from Cordry-Sweetwater, Nineveh, Edinburgh and Hamblen Township were all on scene. A hydrant about 100 feet up the road from Green’s house provided firefighters with all the water they needed.

Green even helped, but he was unable to go into the home to battle the fire since he did not have the appropriate gear with him.

Green’s family didn’t know their house was on fire because it had originated outside, at an outlet near the front door, Leavitt said.

“From there (the siding), it went into an attic space that was at the front of the house, at the top of the first story. It got into a void space there, then it progressed on inside the house. That’s why they were not aware the house was on fire until the alarms went off in the house because it was on the exterior or in a hidden space.”

The garage and a room above it sustained water and smoke damage. The finished basement was not fire damaged, but it was heavily water damaged.

Green and his family are preparing to move into a home in Columbus until their home is rebuilt here. They were unable to find a place in Brown County big enough to fit two dogs and the family of five — sometimes six if a granddaughter is there.

“So far, we’re doing great,” Green said last week.

The family lost the majority of their belongings, including clothing, and any money donated will go toward them rebuilding their lives. The Cordry-Sweetwater Volunteer Fire Department is collecting donations and can be reached at 317-933-2224.

Green said he cannot say enough about the support his family has received.

“My family is so touched by this. It’s totally amazing. The people care. I mean, it’s awesome. It’s enough to make a grown man cry. It’s hard to put into words. I would do anything for anybody,” he said.

Charlie Tinkle, treasurer of the Cordry-Sweetwater Anglers Club, said they had many people donate to the raffle who were not even participating in the fishing tournament last week. All proceeds from the raffle and registration fees went to the Green family.

“He’s a super nice guy,” Tinkle said. “He has a good relationship with the community. A couple of the anglers saw that his house had burnt down and thought we would try to do something nice for him.” The club presented Green with a check on June 27.

After this experience, Green wants others to know the importance of inventorying everything in their homes.

“Take pictures, put it in a safe place, because that will have to be done. I did not know that. I did not do that, and I’m going through it now,” he said.