By Amber Bierfreund, American Red Cross

For Bri Watson, those words describe a loss almost impossible to comprehend.

Her brother, Charles “Jelly Roll” Pinner Jr., his wife, Lori, and four children died when a fire swept through their Dixie County home earlier this year. The children were 11, 7, 3 and less than a year old.

Bri lived next door. That morning, a family member came pounding on her back door to tell her the house was on fire. By the time the family rushed to the home, flames had already engulfed it.

Six members of their family were gone.

In the days that followed, their small North Florida community surrounded the family with support. Friends, neighbors, churches, businesses and first responders stepped forward to help.

But as Bri and her family began navigating their grief, they also learned something that would change the way they thought about fire safety: the home did not have working smoke alarms.

The realization left Bri wondering whether an early warning could have given her brother and his family more time to escape.

“If they would have had smoke alarms, they probably could have gotten out,” Bri said.

Finding Comfort in Being Prepared

After the fire, the American Red Cross visited Bri and her family.

Red Cross volunteers installed free smoke alarms throughout the home and talked with the family about how the alarms work and what to do if a fire occurs.

Now, those alarms provide something more than an early warning. For members of a family still processing what happened, they also offer some peace of mind.

Bri said her daughter struggled to sleep after the fire. Knowing the home is now protected by working smoke alarms—and understanding that they will sound if smoke is detected—has helped her feel safer at night.

“She is way more comfortable because we know they’re all over in here,” Bri said. “She knows how they work. She knows that if there was to be a fire, the smoke alarms are going to go off.”

The family has also thought carefully about how they would escape their home if an alarm sounded, including the different ways they could get outside.

It is the kind of conversation Bri wishes every family would have before they ever need it.

Taking the Message to Their Neighbors

For Bri and her family, installing alarms in their own home wasn’t enough.

They wanted their neighbors protected, too.

Now, the family is working alongside the American Red Cross and Dixie County Fire Rescue to bring home fire safety information and free smoke alarms to the community. Together, they are planning to walk through local neighborhoods, talk with families about fire safety and help install free smoke alarms in homes that need them.

For Dixie County Fire Chief Darian Brown, the effort builds on a partnership that is already there. Dixie County Fire Rescue and the Red Cross regularly work side by side after home fires, helping families through the immediate aftermath. Now, they are working together on the other side of that mission—helping prevent tragedies before they happen.

“In a rural county like ours, partnerships really matter,” Brown said. “We regularly work with the Red Cross when families are affected by fires. Working with the Red Cross helps us reach more families and make sure they have working smoke alarms in their homes.”

For Amanda Martin, Community Disaster Program Manager for the American Red Cross North Central Florida Chapter, the loss reinforced the importance of both sides of the Red Cross mission—being there for families after a disaster and helping communities take steps to prepare before one happens.

“When we respond to a home fire, we meet families on what may be one of the worst days of their lives,” Martin said. “This tragedy really hit home for all of us. We can’t change what happened, but we can be there for this family and help them turn their loss into something that could save another family. Installing free smoke alarms and helping families make an escape plan are simple things we can do together that can make a lifesaving difference.”

For Martin, seeing Bri and her family become part of the effort to protect their neighbors makes the work even more meaningful.

“They have been through an unimaginable loss, and now they want to make sure their neighbors are protected,” Martin said. “If sharing their story encourages even one family to check their smoke alarms or sign up to have alarms installed, they are making a difference.”

For Bri, each conversation and each alarm installed is an opportunity to help another family have something her brother’s family did not have: an early warning and a chance to get out.

Two Minutes Can Make a Difference

Home fires can happen quickly, leaving families as little as two minutes to escape after an alarm sounds.

The Red Cross recommends working smoke alarms on every level of a home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas. Families should also create and practice a home fire escape plan, identify two ways out of each room when possible and choose a designated meeting place outside where everyone knows to gather.

Most importantly, once outside, everyone should stay outside and never go back into a burning home.

Through its Home Fire Campaign, the Red Cross works with fire departments and community partners to provide free smoke alarms and home fire safety education to families across the country.

Honoring Six Lives by Helping Others

Nothing can undo what happened to the Pinner family, and Bri knows the sudden loss will always be part of her family’s story.

But what they do next can become part of that story, too.

By sharing their experience and joining the Red Cross and Dixie County Fire Rescue in reaching their neighbors, the family is turning its grief into action that could help save another life.

For Bri, the message is simple and deeply personal: don’t wait for tragedy to understand the importance of a working smoke alarm.

Check the alarms in your home. Make a plan with the people you love. And if you don’t have working smoke alarms, ask for help.

For one Dixie County family, every alarm installed in a neighbor’s home is another opportunity to make sure someone else has the warning they need to get outside safely—and another way to honor the members of their family who are deeply missed.