The Burke Family – credit Flourish Foster Care Closet & Support
A complete stranger named Casey knew he was in the wrong place, yet at the right time—when he saw the smoke from a burning house in the distance.
His GPS having turned him off the correct route and down state Highway 114 south of Lyerly in Georgia’s Chattooga County, the man found himself as the sole first responder to a house fire.
The house belonged to James and Larita Burke, a pair of saintly foster parents under whose burning roof lived 11 children and 1 grandchildren—some adopted, some in foster care.
James Burke told Local 3 News he fell asleep in his recliner Saturday night, and woke up to quite the shock.
“The next thing I know, some guy was telling me in my living room, ‘Hey, you’ve got to get out of here. Your house is on fire,” said Mr. Burke.
“He was on the wrong road. His GPS put him on the wrong path. He’s never been down that path before, and he said he knew that something was bringing him down that road,” he added.
“[W]hen he saw the fire from the top of the hill; he knew he had to take action. I’m so thankful that he did.”
Together with his son and Mr. Burke, Casey helped rouse and rescue all of the children while the fire consumed the entire house and two cars, burning them to nothing more than cinders and charred beams.
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Many of the children have now been moved to other foster homes, yet despite losing it all, the support from the community has been overwhelmingly immediate and generous, Mrs. Burke said.
Dedicated foster parents, the walls which now exist only in memories have echoed the laughter and voices of 500 children who have stayed with them at some point during their lives.
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The Burkes told Local News 3 that they’re looking for a rental unit large enough for the 14 of them while they rebuild their house, which fortunately included some brick walls that did survive the blaze.
The story is a reminder that behind the wheel, as in life at large, the wrong road isn’t always the wrong road.
WATCH the story below from Local News 3…
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